#might do this for a few other characters as well so

[concerningwolves]

Not only is this allowed but it's something i encourage all writers of any kind to play with! :D

The idea that all writers know what to say all the time and just splash fully-formed drafts out one word after the other is false. There are some who can do it, but i think most of us... can't. Which is why we need tricks like square bracket notes! They're not cheats or lazy writing or some other flavour of Not Allowed, but instead really really important tools that we should use as much as we need to.

Some of the most helpful tricks I've collected over the years are:

make some notes in square brackets – e.g., I had to write a scene on a sailboat, but I know nothing about sailing so i literally just had notes like [boat part] and [how to do X thing?]. If you use square brackets as punctuation anyway, use something else like [[double square brackets]] or a unique letter combination like XY at the start of the note; the point is to pick something you can search for easily later on.

(You can also style inline comments in a different font/colour. Scrivener has an inline annotation feature; if you use Word, you can make a specific Style to make notes stand out at a glance, etc.)

bullet-point your way through any tricky parts – this can be pure stream-of-consciousness vague ideas. it only needs to make sense to me later. much more helpful than just leaving big blank gaps that Future Me has to work out how to fill, but also better than dwelling on a piece of writing forever.

use comment tools – mostly do this if I have ideas for alternate events and/or phrasing, or if I want to check something for continuity purposes.

write out of order – Best advice i ever got for academic writing is to know or even write your conclusion first and your introduction last, which your main argument in between. Similar principles apply in fiction, or any kind of creative writing. If there's a part of the essay that I can visualise clearly or a part of the story that is particularly exciting or important, I might write that first, then figure out how it fits/how everything fits around it.

keep a loose scenes and/or "outtakes" folder – anything that i write out of order goes here, along with any notes for how I think I want to incorporate it into the full text. In the same vein, if I delete something but don't know for sure it will never be relevent ever again, it gets cut and pasted into an outtakes folder.

Basic rule though is that you do not have to get your writing perfect on the first try. This is where drafts come in. The way I see it is to treat each draft as a fresh start – I create/open a new document (well, new Scrivener file) and start over as if from scratch. Each draft gets a narrower focus than the last. This is my process, as an example:

first draft is the word vomit. You do whatever you need to do to get it onto the page, and it can be terrible. In fact, it probably should be terrible. You can fix everything later. it's fine.

The second draft is a half-hearted cleanup attempt. I'll re-type everything because everything is subject to change, from the characters' personalities to the pacing to the order of events. It's all primordial goop, basically. i'm just poking and prodding and making a few adjustments, but mostly trying to create a more stable version of the first draft. All shortcut tricks continue to be my best friend.

By draft three I'll let myself copy-paste between documents if I'm particularly happy with a passage, but try not to get hung up on anything specific. I'll still make liberal use of square brackets etc. as I need to, but try to address as many from the previous draft as I can. This is where I get more brutal with making decisions and trying to fix parts of the story in place.

Draft four is usually my final draft, but there's literally no rules about how many drafts you're allowed to write. It's at this point that I try to keep square brackets etc. to a minimum (unless i've diverged significantly from the plot of a previous draft and having to rewrite large chunks), and make sure to address all the notes and problems encountered in previous drafts.

This is when I move on to revisions. Revisions are the "final do-overs", for me. I start them when I'm satisfied with all the large-scale aspects: plot and chronology; characters' personalities, motivations and arcs; large-scale pacing (so the over-arcing pace, rather than the pacing in individual scenes); backstories; and worldbuilding. I'll copy the last draft's document instead of starting with a blank one. First I run through those large scale things one more time and tweak until I'm happy, not just satisfied. Then I shrink my focus to in-scene pacing, dialogue, and the quality of the writing itself.

I'll also rewrite my plot outline between each draft, too. The act of actually re-writing stuff is very helpful for making your brain think about it.

Drafting like this isn't for everyone, but realising that you can just bullshit your way through chunks of text was a massive game-changer for me. Some people will do a draft, then work on something else, then come back and do another draft, work on something else, etc. Some people's drafting process will look more like what I consider to be revisions. Do whatever works for you. Just remember that from the moment you first decide you Want to Write a Thing to the moment you hit "post" or "publish" or give your manuscript over to a publisher, you can keep making as many changes as you like in any way you like. (And if you go the querying to traditional publishing route, you'll probably get suggestions for, and have space/time to make, changes to the manuscript quite far into the process).

favourite things about first drafts:

square brackets with notes to self mid-line like [does this make sense with worldbuilding?]

ah yes, Main Character and their closest friends, Unnamed Character A and Unnamed Character B.

bullshitting your way through something that you probably definitely need to research later

also square brackets to link up scenes. [scene transition idk] my beloved

the total freedom of word vomits

"I'll fix that later"

the moment when the world and characters start to gain a life of their own

pieces falling into place as you write that you were uncertain about before you started

the accomplishment of Made A Thing

[bluebirdsfeathers]

Corporate Life

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Relationship: Ceo!Wanda X Butch!Loser!Reader

Summary: The disappointment of not being picked to be Wanda’s intern wasn’t going to stop you from settling into corporate life. Especially since you were assigned to work with her brother, Pietro, and she always found excuses to visit.

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: age gap relationship (R is early 20s, W is like 40), no smut here but we might get there later (no promises tho).

A/N: I have an essay due that is less words than this and yet here we are. I’m going to introduce more marvel character each part. I have no idea how many parts this will end up being, but I know how it will end.

Part 1

──────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────

──────･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────

The subway on a weekday morning was something you knew you’d never get used to. Everyone in a rush to get somewhere yet somehow nobody was moving even remotely fast. It was a miracle you’d gotten on a train and not just swept away by a mudslide of office workers. Heading into work you made you was straight to the elevators and back up to the third floor. Today you would be assigned to a department of the paper, and the anticipation was making you nervous. Unlike yesterday you were slightly early and where shocked to find you were the first one there. Taking a seat inside the conference room you were told to meet at, you pulled out your phone and began scrolling Instagram.

“I’ve never understood the obsession with social media,” A unfamiliar voice broke the silence, and you jumped slightly putting your phone down, “My apologies I thought you heard me come in.” Wanda smirked walking towards the other end of the long table, placing down some files, before walking back towards you. “I thought the paper was branching out into social media content?” Your voice came out a little higher than usual. Wanda stopped behind you placing a hand on your shoulder and giving it a light squeeze “We are… but that has nothing to do with me.” She said with a laugh before leaving the room.

It wasn’t long before the rest of the interns showed up along with Dr Banner, as he told you to call him, who you’d met yesterday. He looked to be around fifty with greying hair and a permanently sad expression. One of the first things he’d done was list his multiple degrees and explain how he’d ended up working here as an environmental science editor. The Westview Paper was one of the oldest most prestigious news sources in the country, maybe even the world. It had been in the Maximoff family since the 1950s, now being run by Wanda since her father’s retirement. Today you would find out what department you would be interning in for the next six months. Dr Banner handed out an envelope to each intern, rambling on about how pointlessly dramatic this all was and how he had other more important things to do than this. Everyone was quick to open their envelopes, the wait was just too much.

Your file read ‘Sports and Fitness’ in bold at the top. You’d been on the women’s basketball team in college and had spoken about it in your interview, you loved sports so this should be a perfect fit, but you couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, she hadn’t picked you. “Lads look, I’m Wanda’s intern!” You turn to see Theo, who in this moment you decided you hated, holding up his file to the room looking far too smug. “I guess that proves I’m the alpha here.” You didn’t even entertain him with forced laughter like the others, you simply grabbed your bag and file and left to find a quiet spot to read. You discovered you’d be working for Pietro Maximoff, a quick google search told you that was Wanda’s brother and the head of that department. The file told you everything that would be expected of you over the next few months, some big and small goals as well as a weekly schedule that by the look of didn’t have you meeting with Pietro for a few hours.

To kill time, you decided to have a wonder around the building, the tour yesterday had given you a better understanding of the layout, but you still weren’t confident you could get from a to b without getting a little lost. Round every was another impossibly long corridor lined with doors and window into almost identical rooms that occasionally showed signs of life. As you rounded what must have been the fifth corner you saw a now familiar red head seemingly yelling at a room of men in suits. You stopped walking unsure whether to turn back or keep going like you hadn’t seen anything but before you could react the door to the room opened and the men hurried out, their heads held low like children after being told off. Your eyes went back to the room where Wanda stood, eyes closed, taking several slow deep breaths. Deciding it would be best to leave before you stumble upon something else you weren’t meant to see you turned around only to be stopped by Wanda calling your name.

“Y/n, what are you doing here?” It was hard to read her tone, and a pit formed in your stomach worried you’d upset her. “I was just… familiarising myself with the building. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to.” You stumbled all over your words. “I should go I need to meet Pietro soon and I…” Wanda’s eyes lit up and a smile graced her face “Of course you’re his intern, why don’t I walk you?” You tried to politely refuse her offer, not wanting to be a bother, but she out right refused to take no for an answer, especially after you let it slip you didn’t know where his office was. Turns out it wasn’t far, one floor down and across the walkway and you where there.

The sports department was unlike the other places you been shown so far. It was lively with open plan desks, no cubicles or grey walls, instead hanging around the room was a variety of different countries flags and sports team memorabilia. The staff talked freely amongst themselves; you expected the noise to die down when Wanda entered but it didn’t. You watched her talk with them and share a joke or two, a stark contrast to the rage you’d seen her display moments ago. “Now where is he?” She asked the man she’d been talking to.

“Wanda!” You heard an excited voice call from across the room, “Wands! I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about this side of the building. We’re still being published right?” Pietro’s smile was the same as Wanda’s, warm with a slight hint of mischief. He was much taller than her, with bleach blonde hair and light stubble. “This must be y/n? Great to finally put a face to the name.” He said giving you a playful tap to the arm. “Look Wands I would love to catch up, but I need to get y/n settled.”

“Actually, there is something I need to talk to you about, but we need to discuss that in private. Can I steel you at some point tomorrow?”

“Yeah sure, you have my schedule so let me know when you are free.”

With that Wanda gave you both a smile and left.

Pietro made fast work of the power point he has prepared, and you were glad to hear business wear wasn’t mandatory in his department. Which was a relief as you only had two formal shirts and you’d already worn both. He sent you home early after reassuring you the missing hours wouldn’t come out of your wages and any disappointment over Wanda not picking you was gone. You were going to really enjoy having him for a boss.

The rest of the week went by quickly, you had so much work to be getting on with and so many people to get to know. Your desk was right by Pietro’s so he could keep an eye on you and help you when you needed it. You looked at the clock, it was quarter to five already, almost time to go home for the weekend. That was something you were excited about. This internship only had you working Monday to Friday, that meant you had the whole weekend to yourself. As you hit save for the last time on what you were working on you heard the door on the far end of the room open and looked up to see Wanda followed closely by Theo.

“Hi, Pietro, this is Theo, Theo this is my brother, Pietro. Y/n, you remember Theo, don’t you?” You nodded and watched as the two men shook hands. Yes, you did remember Theo, how could you forget a man that reminded you of all your high school bullies rolled into one and served with a silver spoon. “What do we owe the pleasure?” Pietro asked playfully.

“Oh, you know, just making the rounds, checking on all the new recruits at the end of the first week.”

“We are? I thought you said you needed to check on something important?” Theo said obliviously and Wanda gave a nervous laugh. “The wellbeing of my employees is important Theo. Now y/n how have you been?” You tried and failed to meet Wanda’s eyes as she gave you her full attention. “Good.” Was all you could squeeze out; you didn’t understand why she still made you so nervous. “He hasn’t been working you too hard has he.” Her voice was light and had the same playful tone as Pietro’s. Finally, you found it in you to look her in face and were surprised to see a slight blush that almost matched your own. “No, he hasn’t.” you said leaving an awkward silence in the air. “Well, we better head off, enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.” Without another word Wanda left, Theo once again following closely behind.

It wasn’t long before the excitement and novelty of your new job wore off and all you longed for was the weekend. You’d gotten to know lots more faces around the office, even the lady at the front desk. You learnt her name was Pam and she wasn’t a huge bitch like you initially thought, she was just going through a divorce and her ex-husband, Jerry, was the worst. Somehow, you’d managed to develop a sense of normalcy working in this place. The only thing that kept you on edge were the surprise visits Wanda would do to the department; she was always finding a reason to come down here. Most made sense, like visiting her brother, checking on what stories were being published, but other times it felt like she was going out of her way to poke her head in seemingly just to talk to you, which hadn’t gotten easier yet.

Earlier today, while waiting for a copy of an article she’d tried to start a conversation with you. “I like your t-shirt.” Wanda said as she sat on your desk. “t-thanks, I like your blouse it���s… pink?” You said in return, unsure what to say. “What does it say? Radio head? I didn’t think young people listened to the radio these days.” She said lightly grazing her fingers across your arm. “Oh, Radio Head are a band… like music and stuff.” You shifted awkwardly in your chair, turning back to focus on your work. Pietro returned with the article and Wanda got up and left, giving you a light pat on the back as she walked past you.

The memory of that encounter played on your mind as you got ready to leave work for the day. “Y/n! Hey, I need to head to a meeting, I know you’re about to go home but can you go upstairs to Wanda’s office and drop this off? She needs to approve it before it goes to print.” Pietro handed you the latest copy of the sports news magazine, Wanda was big on seeing the final product physically before it was sent of to print so you agreed to drop it off in her office. She was never there anyway, far too busy to sit down with the election cycle going on. You headed to the lift pressing the very top button to take you all the way to the thirteenth floor, Pietro had given you his ID to get clearance to do so. Once the elevator doors opened, you walked into what looked like a living room, but what was just a very fancy looking wating area. There was a door to the left you assumed to be a bathroom and two large doors straight ahead that must lead to her office. You thought about whether to just leaving the magazine on the coffee table but before you could the large doors swung open.

“I don’t care who his father is! I’ve had enough of him! Who does he think he is anyway selling information to…” Wanda stopped her tirade when she saw you standing there with an expression of shock on your face. “Y/n? What are you doing up here?” She slightly snapped at you.

“Pietro told me to give you this.” You held out the magazine visibly trembling. “I’m sorry Ms Maximoff, I didn’t know you’d be here.” You voice shook slightly as you tried to stay calm while rapidly pressing the elevator button. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’m leaving now.” The doors finally opened, and you hurried inside. “Y/n wait I didn’t mean to…” Wanda’s words were cut off by the doors closing as the lift took you back to the second floor. Breathing heavily, you tried to calm yourself down. You should have just dropped of the magazine and gotten out of there. Why must you always get yourself in these types of situations? You hoped it would be a while before you’d next see Wanda, maybe she would have forgotten all about it by then. Realising you were still clutching the magazine; you headed back to the sports department. Placing it on Pietro’s desk, along with his ID, you wrote a post-it note apologising, hoping he wouldn’t be too disappointed with you. All you could think about on your commute home was how angry Wanda looked over whatever it was she was yelling about. It scared you how she can be so warm and friendly one second then completely switch the next. Sometimes you forgot how rich and powerful she really was.

Once inside your apartment you kicked off your shoe’s and sat down on your mattress now being held up by your nice new bedframe. The money you’d earned from this job was improving your life greatly. You’d bought a new pair of trainers without having to wait for your current ones to be falling apart. If this mistake today ended up costing you your job, you’d never forgive yourself. Taking out your phone you decided to take your mind off things by clearing out some work emails you hadn’t gotten around to today but at the top of your inbox was a new message sent only five minutes ago. It was addressed to all the interns and marked urgent.

The subject read: ‘Meeting tomorrow 9am, Floor: 3 Room: 24B’. A new wave of panic washed over you when you saw it was sent by Wanda.

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inspired by this post by @wandaslittlehorns

[carn4g3]

Ooh okay, so I thought of an idea! I guess you could call this your first request on this account, but any possessive headcannons about the li's from the night shift?

(I assumed they'd be possessive from what you mentioned at least)

Creepypasta Relationship HCs

Characters - Jeff the Killer, Homicidal Liu (& Sully), Ticci Toby, & Eyeless Jack x GN Reader

Summary - How they are in a relationship (w/ a "healthy" dose of possessive tendencies)

TWs - Descriptions of yandere behavior, cheating (and otherwise unhealthy polyamory), abusive or toxic relationships, manipulation, possessive and jealous behaviors, mentions of murder and other violence, & very brief mentions of sex.

Word Count - 3.4k (500-700 each)

A/N: I'm just going to do one of these for every character from the Night Shift so this will be pt. 1, I'll link pt.2 when it's done :)

Jeff the Killer

Almost definitely has a thing with control. As an unwilling pawn to a creature he can't defeat, he tends to approach all things in life less than civilly.

You would likely have to be under Slender's control as well. While he could possibly tolerate someone who has been with Slender for longer than himself, Jeff prefers a more rookie member. Especially if you're being trained as a proxy, he feels a sort of satisfaction knowing his own influence is somehow intermixed with Slender's closest pawns.

Getting into a relationship with him takes time, and, even then, the term relationship is used very loosely. Jeff has interests for short periods of time before moving on to something else that catches his attention. Assuming this is a more long lasting type of relationship, that manifests as him basically disappearing for anywhere from days to months at a time.

He doesn't quite ignore you. If you pass him by chance, he'll acknowledge you with a smidge more endearment than just anyone else. Even if you seek him out, he might agree, albeit on his terms and free time. However, it certainly rivals the near infatuation he exhibits when he's most interested.

That being said, monogamy is not to be expected. If you wanted to discuss it, you probably wouldn't get a straightforward conversation even if you beat it out of him. Jeff doesn't answer to anyone in his mind. He gets to do whatever he wants, when he wants to. If someone else catches his interest, you're the last thing on his mind.

On the other hand, you do have to answer to him. Being stuck in Slender's woods as well, there's only so many people around you, and Jeff feuds with them constantly. If you were to be seeing one of them, that's something they could hold against him, and, to Jeff, that's worse than sin. For that reason, he absolutely policies your other relationships, and, if anything escalates, you're the sole one at fault. Though, Jeff, behind all his boasting, is not the smartest and it is very easy to lie to him if you're even somewhat decent at it.

Jeff is also not the most affectionate in traditional senses. While he understands the general norms of a relationship, he tends to perceive gestures of affection as begrudging requirements rather than something he enjoys doing.

His main aim in a relationship would be sex, any other things falling as secondary or lower.

Non-sexual physical affection is generally stiff or completely non-existent. Depending on his temperament, he can be a little bit sweeter. If you were to ask for a hug, he would (given you two aren't in any sort of public setting) allow you to give him one. He, on the other hand, would stand there like a reluctantly breathing mannequin.

Words of affection are also few and far between. He absolutely won't say he loves you, and it would be like pulling teeth to get him to call you any endearing nickname. But, Jeff does speak to you a bit softer than he does others. His compliments aren't outright but rather a less critical version of his usual vindictive comments. Not to mention, if he's feeling especially placid, he might refer to you by your actual name over whatever bastardization he normally uses.

His most likely form of affection would be in gift giving. Jeff is kind of a kleptomaniac, deriving a weird sort of joy in taking "souvenirs" from those he's killed. If he just so happens to notice something that you've offhandedly mentioned before or (god forbid) even something that makes him think of you, he'll pass it on. Usually, that means finding it on your doorstep (like he's a cat giving you a dead mouse) or having it tossed off to you under the guise of it being "junk."

I will add one concession which is that it's not entirely impossible to get some complacency out of Jeff. One thing that he tends to forget is that you're not completely weak and docile. After all, you interested Slenderman in some way beyond being prey. The most effective would be straight-up physical violence. Jeff doesn't understand emotional cues, and he hardly respects verbal boundaries. A fist to the gut, though? He understands that well. It'll make him think twice.

Overall, things would need to be toxic on toxic.

Homicidal Liu

Hardly as volatile as his brother, Liu is probably the closest you'll get to a "normal" relationship

While he holds a lot of insecurities about his appearance, he has much more room to interact with others in the real world than some of his companions do. He doesn't have a particular preference for who or what you are. If you're under Slender's control, that makes things easier. But, he's just as willing (if only a little hesitant) to form relationships with people outside of the creature's sphere

In my characterization of Liu, he has a bit of a destructive need to be close to Jeff. Some of it stems from his desire to return to a normal life while other parts of it is because he feels a need to be treated poorly somehow. Either way, his agreement to Slender is purely out of a need to be closer to Jeff. For that reason, he doesn't really view the creature in as negative of a light as others. Liu might even encourage you to submit to Slender if you haven't already, though who knows how that might actually go for you.

A complete wannabe romantic. If he sets his eyes on you, he'll go about the motions in the hopes you'll like him back. On the good side, you'll get a couple of nice dates and a bouquet of your favorite flowers for any sort of special event. In the case you don't reciprocate the romantic feelings, however, that does nothing to deter him. He just needs to try harder and eventually he'll wear you down.

Liu doesn't see himself with anyone but you, and he hopes you feel the same. However, he's a bit more flexible if you aren't interested in being exclusive. He fears that denying you fully might turn your interests away from him, so, instead, he'll try to convince you that he's better than whoever else you set your eyes on.

Compared to others, Liu isn't particularly the strongest. He's killed, but he doesn't feel any great pleasure or disgust towards it. It's something he has to do to be near Jeff, that's all. So, he's not one to go straight to physically harming anyone who gets close to you-- that might upset you too. But, he is one hell of a gossip. Any possible dirt he has on the person in question, he'll tell you all about it, maybe even twist it to seem like they hurt him personally. At the end of the day, you love him, don't you? You wouldn't want him to get hurt again, right?

On the more fluffy side, he’s the most consistently affectionate compared to others. Physical affection and words of affection are the main ways he would show his love in a relationship.

He's most physically affectionate when taking you on a date. Holding your hand and kissing your cheek, he does everything the sweet, picture-perfect boyfriend might. Liu's also very willing to indulge whatever requests you have of him. Whatever you want, his arms are open-- literally. In public settings, he gets a bit shyer, a pink flush taking over his features as he reaches for your hand or hastily presses his lips to your own.

When it comes to words of affection, he's quite the poet, like an actual love poet. Is his poetry good? That's subjective. If you indulge him, he might slip a love note or two your way. Although, he was far from a straight-A student. You're pretty sure some of the big words he uses don't quite mean what he thinks, but the thought is generally there. Even if you don't indulge his poetry, he'll still let the words "I love you" fall in your direction alongside a slew of other compliments.

Sully

I don't imagine Sully fronts very much, but, when he does, it's usually for a decently long period of time. Because of this, Liu keeps a diary of sorts so that the other can be a little less disoriented when coming to the front. Sully begrudgingly respects the diary. He doesn't keep up with it like Liu and writes far less, but he keeps the important details in mind.

If you're Liu's partner, he's not too interested in you. Inevitably, he'll be curious at first upon reading about you, but, if you don't catch his interest, he'll move on just as quickly. In that case, you probably won't see him until he fronts again.

In the off chance that he does see you as more than some side character, that doesn't really change much. Just because you're Liu's partner and somehow attracted to their host body (even though Sully is doubtful to believe that), he doesn't just get free range on you. He'll hang around you a bit longer, maybe indulge in a conversation or two. If Sully's relationship with you does develop into something less passive, it would likely be purely sexual in nature.

In general, Sully is unlikely to pursue a romantic partner of his own-- especially if Liu already has a partner. For Sully, Liu's needs matter more than his own, so he gets the final say on romantic relationships. But, he's not incapable of experiencing romantic attraction for another person.

Unlike Liu, you'd have to be under Slender's control for Sully to even consider you. He admires powerful people, so, if you were a more experienced member, that would only be a bonus.

If he did let an actual relationship form between the two of you, it would probably be pretty loosely defined. He wouldn't call himself your boyfriend, but he would scoff if you didn't see him that way. With that, Sully wouldn't entirely mind you were with someone else-- as long as he found them worthy.

(I'm not decided on writing NSFW on this account yet, but there's something there... remind me)

That doesn't dissolve the possessiveness entirely. Sully would still feel like he has some say in your other partners if it's someone he doesn't like. Rather than take that disapproval out on you, he'll go right to the source, and he is not opposed to violence.

In terms of affection in a relationship, Sully is a lot like Jeff in most ways. He's not a fan of initiating softer forms of affection. You would have to be dying in his arms to get him to hug you and most kisses would need to be initiated by you (it's not like he minds, though).

Sully's most valuable asset is his time. When he's fronting, he gets no more than one or two months to get everything done. So, if he chooses to spend his time with you, you better appreciate it. Even if you don't, that might not stop him if he's in deep enough.

Liu would probably be similarly indifferent to Sully's partner whenever he fronts again. He takes a bit more time to get to know you, Sully writing much less about you than Liu would, but he certainly wouldn't grow more fond of you than that.

Ticci Toby

Truly a rollercoaster of a man.

Toby is damn near infatuated with Slender, seeing it as something of a savior to him. Whether you feel entirely the same is irrelevant, you would have to be another proxy. Toby is often trapped in his own mind, not really too observant of things he doesn't need to be. So, you would need to be someone who's a bit more relevant in his life than just an occasional mission-buddy.

Surprise, surprise, Toby struggles with authority. He hates when people have power over him and he knows it (*cough* Tim *cough*). He'll fight any order quite fervently whether that be by outright defying it or just doing something his own way instead. At the same time, he feels the innate urge to be validated for his efforts and garner respect from the very same authority figure. Shockingly, he finds himself gravitated to someone who's been around a bit longer than himself.

You would have to be the one to establish any clear boundaries or definitions in a relationship. Once Toby thinks something, that tends to become his version of fact. He thinks you two are partners? You are. No need to inform you of that, you must already know.

Toby is incredibly insecure in himself. As a result, everyone is a threat to his relationship with you. Anyone could swipe you away if he's not watching carefully enough, so he's on high alert around others-- whether you want him to be or not. At the best of times, he can keep his mouth shut. But, at his worst, he sics himself on others like an untrained guard dog. The offense in question? Causing you to smile in a conversation.

This sort of variety tends to describe most of your relationship. Sometimes, he fails to see any of your flaws, pining any issues he has on either himself or others. Other times, everything is your fault to the point he almost despises you. Those times don't equate to necessarily him distancing himself. Rather, he takes increasingly more frustrating means to get you to change for him. You love him, don't you?

Toby doesn't know much about relationships apart from the stereotypical and heteronormative examples he saw as a child. Regardless of your gender, he tends to think of himself as the "dominating man" of the relationship. Despite that, he tends to be weak to you. It's not the hardest to knock him down a peg or two, depending on his mental state.

His most likely forms of affection are in gifts and acts of service. He's not exactly an artist, but he likes to think he is as he combines various rocks, sticks, and acorns together into some atrocity for you. Almost like a courting bird, he most prefers giving you the pretty or shiny objects he can find throughout the woods. As for his acts of service, those go back to his desire for you to be proud of him. Doing things for you is a natural way for him to achieve that, no matter how ridiculous or damaging your request might be. This aspect of his is almost too easy to exploit.

Toby is very awkward with physical affection. Being around you heightens his nerves and, in turn, his tics. He worries that he'll jab you too hard with his elbow or accidentally smack you with an involuntary hand flick. So, he stays close but never too close: hovering is the best way to describe it. Toby exists near you like a presence, just a few feet away and fiddling with his hands as he waits for you.

Words of affection are also difficult for him for similar reasons. He despises the way his voice comes out cut and stuttered and saying such big things like "I love you" takes a lot of effort out of him. On that note, he can be quite the talker once you two get closer. When he's comfortable around people, he likes to tell them about his interests in long, rambling ways with a little glimmer in his eyes. It's almost comical how easily you can initiate such word vomit from him.

Eyeless Jack

EJ has been a personal fav of mine for many years now.

While I'm an absolute sucker for the beauty and the beast trope with this guy, I think a relationship with someone else under Slender's control is most likely. Despite that, he would definitely be more likely to fall in love with a more human member than another supernatural one. Jack craves nothing more than the nostalgia and familiarity of humanity, so, if a human partner is the closest he can get, then so be it.

A relationship with Jack is beyond a slowburn. He wouldn't admit feelings for you even if it killed him. Jack despises who he is and thinks that every nice thing around him should feel the same. For that reason, it would take you to be the catalyst for the relationship. Good luck doing that though when Jack starts avoiding you like the plague, a pretty common occurrence. Even if you do voice the thoughts for him, he might still hide in the hopes you'll forget them.

Once in a relationship, he's the most likely to make it clear that he wants you two to be exclusive. While I tend to hesitate on making his more demonic traits too animalistic, I think it's reasonable to suggest that he has quite the strong nose. You have a scent, perhaps even one beyond whatever hygiene products you wear, and so does everyone else. If you don't smell like, well, you, it unsettles him in a certain way. That's his reasoning, at least.

In reality, he's more possessive than he lets on. To an extent, it's not a complete ruse on his part. He does truly believe the things that he asks of you are because his demonic nature makes the alternative impossible. It would be a lie to say there isn't some almost inexplicable mental gymnastics to get to that point, however. He can handle you having platonic relationships with others, no matter how much he feels his hands twitch unpleasantly at the thought. Jack struggles to fully commit to making you "all his" given that he doesn't think he deserves anything.

Expanding on his self-hatred a bit further, Jack is most vocal about these feelings with you. The sheer amount of time it took for the two of you to get together allowed for the establishment of more than enough trust on his part. He'll rarely dump it all at once. Instead, he makes comments here and there about hating certain features of his, or, if that's too much, he'll look so obviously sad about it. The reassurances feel cute, almost more domestic than you expected... at first.

Jack doesn't actively seek praise or compliments from others. If anything, he tries to practically disappear in most social settings. So, to have someone reaffirm him so readily, it's almost intoxicating. It would be a lie to say he doesn't fish for compliments on occasion, highlighting some insecurity of his to an unnecessary degree in the hopes you'll dote on him over him. Honestly, you might have swayed his worries on the issue entirely, but he'll be damned if he doesn't hear you say it again and again and again.

Acts of service and quality time are his go to forms of affection. Jack is guilty of hovering even more so than Toby is. If you're doing something, he's willing to help with whatever it is (there's very little he can't do) or at least linger around you if you don't want the help. When you're not busy, he still likes to linger near even if you two are doing separate things. Another heightened sense of his is hearing, so he basks in the quiet. As his partner, hearing you is a big comfort to him, even if it's just your soft breaths.

As is customary now, Jack doesn't think he's deserving of physical affection even though he craves it. He's shockingly strong willed and won't initiate anything unless you specifically instruct him to. He's most partial to being held by you, but is willing and happy to act as your personal pillow if need be. Sometimes, he can be a bit too cautious with his expressions of physical affection. Between his claws, his strength, and the inhuman black substance that drips from his eye sockets, he's a big fan of hover hands.

For words of affection, Jack is not a talker whatsoever. Despite his transparency on his insecurities, it flusters him greatly to share how he truly feels about you. He can only bring himself to say he loves you when he's sure you're deep asleep. Regardless, he'll manage to throw around an occasional compliment or two. Usually, it's uttered painstakingly quiet and you'd be lucky if he ever actually repeated it for you to hear better.

I fear there is some favoritism between these characters and I need to write more asshole EJ hcs.

[34to42]

Okay. So.

It’s no secret that I’ve been eagerly anticipating season 2 of The Night Agent so I made the very adult decision to take a vacation day from work and binge watch the whole thing in one day. And I have some thoughts.

Obviously spoilers lay ahead so please be aware of that before you continue reading if that’s something you care about. There might also be some swearing.

It’s not often we see a Netflix show get to season 2 and more importantly, have a season 2 that either lives up to or exceeds season 1 but I think The Night Agent is one of them. Season 2 is SUCH an experience, one that I was desperately worried about before it aired, and one that I am so happy I got to participate in now that it’s done. I was worried that the show would forget the events of season 1, that Rose would play a less integral role, that the show’s bigger and better storylines would be overdone, that they would play America as the hero when dealing with plot lines regarding international relations - none of those fears came true.

Though the showrunners were in uncharted territory having no other Matthew Quirk novels to adapt, they did a fantastic job in creating a new situation that felt similarly dire and equally as convoluted as the events of season 1. And the events of the previous season are directly referenced, and Rose continued to be integral, and the bigger and better storylines were handled well, in my opinion at least.

The overarching result of the events of season 2 however, has to be… tragedy. So many different characters have their lives upended, affected, or changed and it’s all just tragic. The character of Noor, an outstanding addition to the show, risking everything to get her family into a better situation only to lose her brother, traumatize her mother, and receive a cheque from a smiling bureaucrat for her efforts. Warren’s son Ethan, having to go through the betrayal of a friend (David), meeting his estranged father, getting so much conflicting information about his dad, only to lose him and be traumatized forever. Rose, desperately wanting a normal life but unable to fully process her grief and trauma because the only person she fully trusts left her and isn’t coming back. Even Alice’s family and the way they had to deal with their broken hearts when she took the Night Action job and stopped keeping in contact with them.

And finally… Peter.

Peter, who is a good man and wants to do the right thing but keeps getting into situations where the right choice has consequences. Who desperately wanted to clear his father’s name only to learn that it was all true and then have to make the same choices to save the one person he loves. The soul crushing tragedy of the scene with Peter and the broker in the rail car as he taunts Peter with the knowledge that by making the choices he did, he will become his father and follow in his footsteps. The absolute fucking agony on Peter’s face.

And then the tragedy of Peter telling Rose to forget him, because he knows that he cannot keep her safe and she will be used against him even though she means “everything” to him. 😭😭😭😭

My poor shipper heart.

Although I, and I suspect a lot of people, would have loved to see a happier ending for Peter and Rose, I will say that this one felt true to the story they were trying to tell. I can think of other ways this could have gone to get them that ending which I will definitely be exploring in fanfic but I can see why this choice was made. That scene in the hotel broke my fucking heart. Again, the absolute agony on Peter’s face.

So… yeah. Just, tragedy all around with this season.

I do want to mention a few things that I really appreciated about the new episodes. First, that Rose continued to not be a damsel in distress but rather continuously came to Peter’s aid and helped him out, much as she did in the first season. Second, the character of Javad was INCREDIBLY acted by Keon Alexander and made for an excellent villain, even if not the ultimate one. Holy shit, watching the shifts from romantic interest to quiet, seething menace on his face and in his demeanour throughout the show were so compelling. Third, all the scenes between characters at the Iranian mission. I was really worried this storyline would feel rushed but instead we got so many sweet moments between characters such as Haleh and Noor and an insight into their relationships.

Some specific moments I loved:

- Noor wearing her friend’s headscarf to the event at the mission

- Haleh warning Noor that Javad knew she was at the UN even though it could have cost her her job

- The ambassador’s handling of how to get Javad out of the mission, such a stroke of brilliance

- Rose’s conversation with Catherine where she told her off for talking about her aunt and uncle because she didn’t know them

- Peter holding doors open for Rose even when they were trying to get away from gunmen

- Peter immediately crawling into bed with Rose when she was having a nightmare

- Basically ever scene with Peter and Rose

- the fight scenes, they felt incredibly realistic and used a lot of elements from around the scene

- Peter and Rose’s silent communication regarding shooting Markus, it was so awesome to see them in sync like that

- Rose’s speech to Tomăs regarding the chemical weapons, she was able to get through to him even without any type of training because she is awesome

- Peter’s immediate confidence in Rose when Catherine asked “who knew she could do that?” Fuck, that was an awesome moment

- Peter and Noor’s conversation on the steps of the UN where she understood why he did what he did and accepted his apology by holding out her hand. The number of times Peter did and tried to apologize to Noor for her brother because he wants to do the right thing

Despite how much I loved the new season, I do have a few lingering questions and complaints that I also wanted to write out in case anyone else is struggling with them:

- How did the broker know to contact Rose at the beginning of the season if Peter’s name and involvement in Camp David were scrubbed?

- that President Travers wasn’t in more episodes. I really, really appreciated the way she stood up for Peter in front of Catherine at the beginning and wish there could have been some follow through later on in the season

- it feels like Rose and the doctor could have maybe thought of knockout gas a little earlier? I understand why the show did what they did for the plot but it didn’t ring quite true that they would both make so many cannisters of KX without trying something to get out of there

- Soloman’s speech to Peter as he was taking him to meet the broker regarding the one agent of theirs Peter killed in Bangkok. How they all attended his funeral and he had 40-some people who loved him. Dude, YOU killed Peter’s partner!! That whole speech just felt off.

- the character of Catherine. Things improved towards the end of the season but I really didn’t like the character at the beginning and especially didn’t like the way she spoke about Peter. It isn’t his fault that they sent him in without a lot of training and it was her job to make sure he was ready

- Peter’s tattoos being gone. I understand why it makes sense that a spy cannot have very identifiable tattoos but come on. I think we can all agree that Gabe’s tattoos are incredibly hot and we should be able to see them

So, those are my thoughts. I’m sure I’ll have more once the dust settles from watching all the episodes in one day but for now, I hope you enjoy the new season as much as I did.

[hwnglx]

dating enhypen hyung line pro's & con's

based on tarot. i don't know these idols personally. energies are always changing. everything i state is for entertainment purposes only, alleged and NOT straight fact. pls take it with a grain of salt!

heeseung

pro's

will make you the brightest star of his life -> i can just see his life circling around pleasing you

your existence will just matter to you a lot

he's an extremely perfectionistic guy so he'll rarely feel satisfied and therefore put consistent effort into making sure he's being the best boyfriend he can be for you

he literally wouldn't live up to his own expectations towards himself and disappoint himself if he found himself being unfaithful or doing you wrong

wants to make his partners feel secure when they're with him, like he's their comfort person and safe space

sees his lovers as someone he can learn from -> wants to grow, improve and transform into his best self through dating his partners, as well as also become a source of support and help for them himself

almost like bonding through their wounds, perhaps even sharing similar past experiences so they can offer a sense of mending and healing to each other

i really don't see much of an ego here, in fact he's almost too overly modest and humble

heeseung is the type of boyfriend will dim his own light if it means you will shine, honestly

i thought of a line from stray kids' song “i am you” where changbin says “i can become darkness if it means you will become brighter” (fun fact they're both virgo venus')

has a very calming and soothing type of energy and presence in his romantic relationships

i just keep seeing him sit there with his soft gaze strictly focused on his partner's eyes all the time, gently stroking their hand and quietly humming “mhm”s while attentively listening to them talk and take in every word

very interested and curious in getting to know his partners in a detailed and thorough manner

will probably remember most things about you too, even the more trivial and simple things like.. the perfume you wore on the day you met, just things you probably wouldn't expect for him to remember

con's

his perfectionism, unrealistic standards and amplified romanticism can easily set himself up for disappointment, not only towards himself but also in regards to his lovers and his relationships

he tends to have this idealized view of love and approach his romantic connections with such high expectations that things not living up to that (which often is inevitable since relationships can't be perfect all the time) can quickly dishearten him

i also see him being contradictory in a way where he does want to grow and learn through the connection but at the same time, he can struggle with criticism and negativity

might not want to hear out your advice at times because to heeseung, it can feel like you rubbing his mistakes into his face, which he doesn't enjoy and can get afraid of

he's just really worried about messing things up

can get obsessive and overly invested in the relationship

i just see him being this lover who can suffocate his partners to a degree because he's so eager to make sure they're content and please them all the time

he reminds me of this guy i dated who had similar placements and he kept being so immensely alert and attentive to all my needs that it just felt.. overly smothering at some point (i know some people might like this though, depends on your character)

no lie, heeseung's and jungkook's energies are strikingly similar in a few ways. the idealization of romance, overthinking, immensely high standards causing quicker disappointment, issues with handling criticism due to their perfectionistic tendencies. they could relate on some levels.

heeseung seems like a good guy; i truly see his energy as one of the best in enhypen. though this could be subjective. his intentions read as pure, and coming from a selfless place.

jay

pro's

has this pleasant energy to him where being with jay feels very comfortable, cozy, warm and relaxing

a boyfriend who loves spending the more quiet and intimate times together with his partner

will love displaying this source of calm and rest for them

i see him really enjoying to cuddle under the sheets, in front of the fireplace, with lit candles, wine, soothing music, softly holding you in his arm

a very sensual and indulgent lover too, he just loves making his partners feel good in every sense of the word and wants to heighten their enjoyment

physical touch & quality time are his likely love languages

quite good at figuring out your personal boundaries and remaining respectful and mindful of not crossing them

he's the type to hold himself back in the beginning stages and stay polite but once he's got a good understanding of how deep he can push your buttons, he'll love to initiate some playful debates and arguments

dating jay can feel like you're dating your best friend

he brings a lot of happiness and laughter into the lives of his significant others

a lot of playful bickering and fun times

i just saw this scene of him strolling through the furniture store with his lover and them fighting over which colour plates they should buy for their new house lmao

another insight i constantly get for him without fail; this man genuinely loves the idea of marriage

though i don't see him being ready for it at all at this point in time, jay does enjoy the thought of a more traditional relationship and domestic life

extremely protective over his lover and their relationship

will always defend you and your name fiercely

or e.g. protectively get you to walk on the other side of him, if there's a busy road next to you

quite territorial too, jay wants his lovers to himself and is ready to fight and glare off anyone trying to access them

just heard “nothing's gonna hurt you baby, as long as you'll be with me, you'll be just fine” (song by cas)

con's

mainly focused on himself; including his own dreams, desires and wishes, especially in terms of his career, his work and his money -> i don't see him having much room for anyone else right now

might feel like letting another person into his life in a more serious and committed manner could cause an unwanted interference rather than an enrichment

i truly don't see him enjoying the thought of compromosing or being restricted by anyone right now

tbh, the energy is pretty selfish, and more surface-level here.. i currently don't see jay getting into relationships for true love, but moreso for what they can do for him

and also for what the relationship looks like; on the outside, as well as on paper

very practically minded in that sense, i am not getting an actual emotional attachment to his partners for him

definitely has his workaholic tendencies; might put himself and his career above the relationship with his significant others if he doesn't see the two aligning well

i also see jay easily getting caught up in materialism and putting too much value on superficial things like money, possessions, status, etc.

he can get a little stingy if he feels unappreciated, or the connection is too onesided (like he's constantly the one buying the gifts, preparing everything and his partner doesn't bother to do their part)

immensely stubborn and “my way or the highway”

can be quite rigid and inflexible, as well as reluctant to give in, or adapt and adjust himself to anyone

tbh, the energy was interestingly different compared to what i got from him before. though obviously, people and their preferences, habits, etc. change all the time through various experiences. which is the case especially for enhypen, since they're so young and still in the midst of maturing and developing. this non-committal “i'll do whatever i want” energy strikes me as more of a stage or phase for jay as of right now. might change within a few months, who knows.

jake

pro's

immensely flirty, romantic and charming boyfriend

naturally brings a lot of butterflies and excitement into the lives of his partners in that way

i just see him being a hugely smooth talker, making his partners blush by flattering them all the time

almost in this love-bombing way, where some people might (playfully) tell him to shut up at some point while blushing embarrassedly and he'd love that sight

comes alive in romance; loves everything it entails

being in a harmonious relationship is something he desires a lot, so there's this grateful and proud feeling of “you're literally making my dreams come true”

would maybe even tell you you're his dream

emphasis on him being immensely sweet and loving with his words, there's definitely a poetic side to him too

will not only find his home in you, but become your home (offer you a sense of warmth, familiarity and belonging)

very calming and soothing listener

everytime i read for him, spirit tells me there's something about his voice and the way he looks at you, that just has the potential to calm you down immensely

jake is someone who can go through a lot of inner turmoil himself, so he can often find himself wanting to comfort the people he's close to, especially his lovers

a lover who's very.. “don't keep it all in, talk to me, i will listen, and i will try my best to help”

he just genuinely wants to make you feel cared about

also very witty and funny though, i see him provoking and poking his lovers a lot just to get a reaction out of them

a lot of sarcasm mixed into his teasing and humor in a way that just riles you up; jake will love seeing you annoyed and find it very amusing

i do see him trying to make it up to his partners too though, like giving them a kiss and apologizing (he's a very playful push and pull type of boyfriend)

con's

likely to not be very reliable, he can often be more talk than action, and not always stick to what he preaches

can be very moody, unpredictable and overly sensitive

does want a relationship that goes deeper (i can sense jake literally craving it since he can feel empty very often) but can opt to run away as soon as he feels like it does, especially because the intimacy can scare him off

vulnerability can make him uncomfortable -> to jake, it can feel like someone has insight into his true soul and sees him for everything that he is, including the flaws and blemishes he himself deems as unlovable

easily sees his wounds, pain and insecurities as something people would judge him for, which is why he rarely allows people in that closely

just.. really desires validation, a stroke of his ego and admiration and can quickly be under the impression that his more “raw” self isn't worthy of that

i heard the lana del rey song “will you still love me, when i'm no longer young and beautiful? will you still love me, when i got nothing but my aching soul?” (again.. wow, i remember getting it for my ideal type reading too)

i see jake's insecurities and unstable self-esteem making him a person who feels offended and hurt more quickly, which can lead to him becoming sharp, offensive and cutting with his words as a defence mechanism

i heard “hurt people hurt people”

can easily feel mistrustful which can lead to forceful and controlling behavior -> can experience issues allowing you your freedom out of fear of you moving on

jake kept giving me this feeling of “i want to find a person who can make me feel like i'm at home” i just kept hearing the word “home” continuously.

random note, i also thought of australia and his mother a lot, she comes up in almost every reading for him

for the pro's, the knight of cups fell out together with the four of wands, and the way it fell gave me the image of jake (knight of cups -> scorpio sun) seeking for this feeling of belonging and arriving home (four of wands) like he finally found the person who gives him the warmth he's searching for.

two of the following cards were the star and the nine of cups which gave me.. “thank you for making my hopes and wishes become reality, thank you for staying with me.” the reading was quite moving, tbh. i didn't expect that.

apparently, he is a scorpio stellium with an aries moon in the eight house, so.. phew. yeah. makes sense. jake is a bunch of intensity and emotions wrapped into one human, literally. he feels and senses everything three times as deeply as others.

his sun does fall into his fourth house too though, which explains how closely he ties himself to his family, and the meaning of home. he really craves a safe space.

sunghoon

pro's

trustworthy, committed and loyal boyfriend (probably number one in enhypen right now) -> he just won't find much interest in other people once he's with his lover

sunghoon is picky anyway, so once he's with someone, he firmly stands behind his decision and won't be the type to just allow his impulses to ruin anything

an insight i get again and again; he likes the idea of a connection that blossoms slowly but substantially

isn't the type to rush or jump from lover to lover but moreso approaches his relationships in a mindful manner

will spend a good amount of time getting to know you thoroughly, i see him studying people quite carefully

if he decides to date you, it's because he sees you as the person for him -> not the type to put on a show or play deceitful games with his partners, he's a serious lover

puts genuine effort into making sure the relationship is based on a stable foundation of trust (very important factor for him!) and mutual feelings

meaning, he'll make sure you know you can trust him but also find ways to truly figure out whether he can trust you

the type of boyfriend who wants to grow together with his partner, go through various different cycles together and continuously deepen the connection as time goes on

i do see sunghoon believing in fate and destiny, he can be quite intuitive in that sense

i heard “tell me all your secrets” and “tell me something you've never told anyone else”

sunghoon will want to be the one special person who's allowed to know you in and out, better than anyone else

wants to enjoy this subconscious, profound and unique connection with you in that way, like no one understands you the way he does and vice versa

i especially see him wanting to be the one to know about e.g. your struggles, you might not tell everyone about

like he's your person, the one you'd trust with your life

keeps the relationship very private

i just see being in a relationship with sunghoon as this experience where, being with him can feel like you're the only two people on the world; it's very intimate

he will quite literally be tunnel-visioned on you whenever you're together and naturally make you focus on him too

though i do see him enjoying experiencing different things together with his lover, this silent but powerful connection and communication is likely to still be present, even when you're amongst a crowd

like this.. one moment of eye contact between the two of you, can already tell the other person what they're thinking and feeling, type of dynamic

con's

can have the habit of naturally holding himself back a lot and therefore store a lot of his worries inside

this man can overthink and overanalyze much more than you'd think, but many of his partners might not even figure that out since he's very good at disguising it

i keep feeling so chilly inside while reading for sunghoon, it's almost like.. once he gets to this place of overwhelming and inner stress, he often turns cold

tends to rationalize his more “negative” emotions since they can get confusing and too much for him otherwise

but he also doesn't enjoy confronting his lovers with them at all, out of fear of causing disharmony, or laying himself bare in this vulnerable or “weak” state

genuinely doesn't want to burden people, especially his significant others, with his own inner conflicts but can also have issues processing and finding healthy outlets

so he's likely to, either distract himself by focusing on his own desires and endeavors away from his significant others (like his career and work), or generally withdraw and isolate himself from them in order to somehow cope

i also see him potentially struggling to empathize and understand other people's standpoints at times

sunghoon does tend to look back at himself and reflect on his own behavior a lot, so he can get caught up in this feeling of “no but i did everything right, everything is fine, i don't understand why you'd be this way”

it's this frustration of sincerely wanting to understand you, but just not always being able to, which can result in him turning distant, stiff and detached emotionally

i also see some potential judgemental and overly picky tendencies in terms of superficial things, like appearance

maknae line coming very soon! stay tuned <3

[admirationandromantics]

A Traumatic Event to Bring us Closer

Okay, so this was not a request (though I know someone in the request box have asked for angsty Josh fics, I promise, they're coming soon), but I fiddled around with a Psycho-Josh character ai-thingy, and wanted to do something inspired by that. A little longer than what I usually write, but the words started flowing and I couldn't stop.

Warnings. This does include mentions or the fear of dying, torture, and so on (all of these are scare-tactics and will not happen). Obsessive and possessive Josh. This also contains reader getting severely injured as well as blood and extreme stress... Aka ANGSTY. What I'm trying to say is if you can't read that, then I would advice you not to!

Anyways, it starts right after having seen Josh die to the construction of the Psycho, and now, the others have ran, and you try to catch up with them.

Word count: 5,5k

I run out of the shed, trying to catch up with Ashley and Chris. As soon as they saw the Maniac inside, they ran, hoping to get away from him. I was busy crying, mourning Josh… My Josh… Who this psycho cut in half with a saw. 

When I saw him, my panic rose, heart throbbing in fear and heartbreak. He was wearing overalls, a shirt and a scary clown mask, slowly walking towards me. This made me turn on my heel and go, taking me to my current position: running for my life. I keep on the path, not a lot of snow underneath after everyone who walked there. The air is freezing, making my wet faze unbearably cold. My hand goes to my cheeks, trying to brush away some of it while keeping up the pace. I look behind me, seeing the man running rapidly after, his legs longer and faster, slowly catching up to me. 

“Ashley! Chris!” I scream, hoping some of them hear me, but I wouldn’t count on it. They started running a while before me, leaving me with this madman. As I look forward again, my foot gets caught in a root, making my body slam down into the ground harshly. My head hurts, ringing while I try to stand up again. Suddenly, I feel something grab my ankle, and I look down to see him again, bending down while holding onto me. 

I fight against him, kicking and screaming while trying to rip my foot away from him. But his grip is strong, and he keeps holding on, a low, scary chuckle sounding from under the mask. Even his shoulders move up and down from his laugh, and how entertained he is. I try to scream for help again, listing everyone I know who are up on the mountain. This seems to bother him, and he drags me further towards him, slowly working up my body while I struggle. 

His face comes closer to my ear, one of his hands grabbing my hair roughly, yanking me backwards, making me sit up on my knees as he drags me. I wish I had the pain tolerance to fight back, but his hand in my hair and the other around my neck. I oblige, letting him pull me up on my feet, my back against him. My hands go to the one around my neck, silently begging him to loosen the grip. I use the last air I have to conjure a few weak words. 

“Get off me you maniac!” 

This seems to get on his nerves even more, yanking my hair harder and tightening his grip around my neck, making an involuntary plea escape what’s left of my throat. I hear his dark chuckle again, how he enjoys the situation, liking to be in control of me. 

Suddenly, the hand leaves my neck, and I take a few deep breaths, trying to regulate myself. Instead of choking me, his hand grabs both my wrists, placing them behind me, the previous hand in my hair moving to my stomach, pulling me deeper into him. I can feel his hot breath on my ear, his face coming too close for comfort. His exhales come out quickly past each other, annoyingly like he’s amused by my resentment. 

“What’s wrong you coward? So ugly you don’t even dare to show your face?” I taunt, pulling at my arms with all my might. After what he did to Josh, there was no way I was going to be nice. He killed my love, and when he kills me too, I’ll put up a fight. 

At my remark, his hand moves up to my face, grabbing my jaw and pulling my head back on his shoulder. I hum, looking up in the cloudy sky, still trying to free myself. But at the end of the day, there’s no use. He overpowers me easily, both in size and strength. His irritation seems to be growing, but he still keeps up that amused tone in his dark voice. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Princess” 

There’s something oddly familiar in the way he calls me that name. There’s actually something familiar in his voice alone, but I can’t place it. His hand moves slowly down my neck again, pushing down slightly, making me let out a painful wince. I stand still, hoping that he’ll not be as rough with his next movements. 

“That’s what I thought, now keep that pretty mouth of yours shut, just like good old Josh did” 

The comment sets something off in me, a rage I didn’t know I had. My chest burns unlike before, but I don’t know if it’s due to the cold or my anger. Maybe a combination. 

“All quiet and whimpering while in the hands of a scary man like me…” He taunts, and I start squirming, trying to free myself. 

“Scary man, where? All I see is an ugly fucking coward” I state, stopping my movements. Every time I try, I get reminded of his strength. He grips my upper neck tightly, tilting my head in his direction. A displeased huff escapes his mask, hot breath coating my neck. He makes me look up at him, seeing blue eyes through the holes of the mask. I make sure my distaste for him is shown through my stare. 

“You’re not the one in control here, I am. So you better watch that damn tongue, Princess” he growls, his voice still not recognizable. 

“Or what, you’ll kill me? Just like you murdered Josh?” 

I can basically feel his sick smile under the mask, struggling to keep in that little laugh from the mention of his name. The action makes my blood boil. How dare he.  

“You better behave yourself, or else-”

“Or else what?” I interrupt him, making his grip on me harder. But I can still take it, so I keep up my insults. “Struggling to threaten a girl, huh? Easier with an unconscious guy who you could do whatever you pleased with?” I spit out, reminding him of when he took Josh. It’s safe to assume he doesn’t have the strength to have held him like this, and probably gassed him down like he did with Ashley. He grunts in response, done with my shit. 

“Think you’re such a smartass, huh? If you keep this attitude up, I’ll have no other choice than to shut you up” 

“I’d like to see you try” I counter, breathing heavily and starting to feel my energy drain. 

“Oh… would you now?” He teases, moving us both. I follow, not having enough energy to fight a losing battle. He turns me around, holding my wrists above my head, my back meeting a tree. I feel a small branch making contact with my lower thigh, hurting it. I try to keep my poker face, not having time to think about a small scratch. I look him up and down, now seeing his outfit in the light. It’s bloody and dirty, his mask horrid up close. 

“Sick fuck” I whisper, not giving in easily. He squeezes my wrists harder, making me let out a small whimper in pain. Another chuckle escapes him, finding pleasure in my situation. 

“Not backing down yet, aren’t you tired Princess, just give in” 

“I’ll be a pain in your ass until you kill me, might as well get it over with” I say, standing firm on my ground. At least the ground I can reach from how high up he’s holding me against the tree. He shakes his head, clicking his tongue a couple of times as if he’s disappointed. I take this as a time to shout for the other, hoping that someone will hear me. 

“Ashley! Chris! I’m here, help me!”

My yells are interrupted by his gloved hand coming to cover my mouth. I keep up, struggling against his grip while still shouting, though they only come out as muffles beneath him. 

“Stop your damn fighting, just give up already. You’re wasting your energy” He complains, strengthening his grip on me. I stop, taking a deep breath and completely relaxing on him, being as silent as a mouse. 

“That’s it, you look so much better when you’re not struggling like some wild animal in my arms” he compliments, hand on my mouth being slowly removed. 

Just as I feel his grip loosen just the slightest, my knee comes up to kick him in the balls. I fail, but it still hits him hard in his lower stomach, making him let go and slightly bend over in pain. I don’t hesitate, starting to run down the path while he throws curses at me. 

“Fucking bitch, get back here!” 

I look behind me for just a second, seeing that he’s already recovered and is running a little further behind me. I shout for the others, but no one answers. I continue down the path, trying to remember all the slippery parts, doing my best not to fall on them. 

“You’re not getting away that easily!” He shouts, voice closer than before. He’s got long legs, it will not be long until he catches up to me. I take a right, seeing the lodge in the distance. This gives me hope, and I keep my pace up, trying to get there in time. My heart’s beating in my throat, rapidly, chest burning from exhaustion. 

I jump up the small set of stairs, quick to open the door and get inside. I see him arriving, and I lock it, hoping he won’t break it down. I take a breath, pulse high as I watch him pound on the door. I still don’t feel safe, so I run further inside, taking a quick look to see if the others are here. I can’t see them, but I decide that barricading myself in my own room must be the best option. The pounding has stopped, and I can imagine he’s working on getting inside another way. He wouldn’t know which room was mine either, and would probably think that I moved down to the cellar, knowing there’s a network of tunnels down there. 

I run up the stairs, legs almost giving out from exhaustion. As I arrive outside my room, I take the handle silently, working on getting myself in quickly, without making a sound. I lock it, turning to the side and dragging one of the smaller closets in front of it. After I’m done, I breathe out, a little tension leaving my body. The adrenaline starts wearing off, and with that, the pain in my leg gets worse. 

“Smart move, Princess…” 

My body freezes before I can turn, knowing the voice from before. My breathing quickens yet again, making my chest hurt, sore from the cold and all the running. I turn around fearfully, seeing him sit on the chair beside the bed, leaned back and relaxed. Before my brain can follow, I grab the closet, dragging it back. He stands up, taking hold of my arm and dragging me away from the door, easily pushing the furniture back in front of it. 

“N-no, get away from me” I try, but my voice breaks, all the yelling, and the cold temperature having ruined it. It sounds weak, defeated. He chuckles, a smile behind the mask, his eyes mad. He grabs both my hands, throwing me down on the bed. I whimper, feeling my thigh hurt as it makes contact with the sheets. I look down quickly, noticing blood running down it. I try moving it a little, making sure that there’s some pressure on it. He doesn’t notice, and continues to manhandle me, collecting my wrists above my head, his other hand caressing my cheek. I turn away, earning a cackle from him. My body stops fighting, knowing it’ll worsen the bleeding and the fact that I’m no match for him in my weakened state. 

“Please leave me alone, what do you want?” 

“Oh, I want you, Princess” 

The nickname makes me sick, and I do my best not to look at him, his clothing, or at his mask. I look to the side, seeing the door, barricaded by no other person than me. I can’t jump out the window, since it’s the second story, so now, I’m completely trapped. 

“And what are you going to do to me?” 

“Anything I want…” he says, voice lower and not as tense. I don’t fight, I can’t fight anymore. I just want Josh, I want him back. There’s no point in anything anymore. This trip was a chance for me to finally confess, to tell him everything. And instead, I watched him die. Die to this psycho man. I feel tears form in my eyes, rolling down the sides of my face, warming me up after being outside. 

“Why are you doing this to me, why did you kill Josh?” 

He stays quiet for a few moments, his head leaning down to me, his mouth beside my ear, finally answering. 

“He didn’t deserve to live after what he put me and my sisters through” he says, an amusing tone to the statement. I look up at him, confused. 

“You and your sisters?” 

“Yes, me and my sisters?” 

“He would never do anything to hurt anyone” I counter, not believing him. What could he have done to make someone hate him so? And hate his friends as well, wanting to hurt them. 

“Who are you?” 

He chuckles in his distorted and dark voice, keeping himself close as he speaks. 

“Now, where’s the fun in that? Keeping you clueless gives me such a thrill” 

I wiggle against his arms, trying with the small energy I have to free myself. He hardens his grip, not letting me move an inch. 

“Still trying to escape?” 

“You’ll have to kill me to make me stop. Just like you did with Josh” 

He laughs, gloved hand caressing my neck, fingers gracing over the place he choked me. I wouldn’t be surprised if the area was red already. Luckily, it doesn’t hurt. 

“You keep bringing him up, was he really that important to you?” he teases, and I give up fighting again, trying to regain some of my energy. Maybe I can do the same I did in the forest, but doing that, I needed to control myself first. 

“I’ll make you pay for what you did to him” I state, voice still weak, but not faltering. 

“Oh? And how do you plan on doing that, Princess?” 

“By killing you” I say again, voice steady and firm. I want to hurt this man, I want to kill him. 

“Wow, and tell me, how will you do that?” 

I imagine it, having him being beat up by the boys, before opening up, letting me use a knife and carve stuff into him, slowly cutting him up while he’s still alive. Hearing his pleas while keeping up the pace. Maybe I am insane, but I’ve never in my life had such violent fantasies about a person. Up until now. 

“With a knife… slowly, painful” 

“How exciting, but I don’t think you have it in you. You don’t seem like someone who can kill another human” 

“Good it’s a monster I’m killing then” I counter, the reply coming faster than my brain can process it. But he doesn’t get mad or irritated though. Instead, he lets out a condescending laugh, shaking his head. I keep prying, still curious. 

“Who are you?” I ask again, wanting an answer. 

“You’re right, I am a monster” he says, his free hand moving down to my waist. I lean back, broken and defeated. This was not worth it, none of it was. I could’ve stayed home, not knowing about Josh, not being in this situation. 

“Aww, too tired to fight me, but you were so fiery a while ago” He taunts, but I don’t bite. I stay silent, not saying or reacting in any way. That’s what he wants after all, reactions. Wasn’t that the point of having me watch him kill Josh?

“Just kill me, please” I plead, hoping he does, and hopefully quickly. I can’t imagine doing anything differently than now. I just want to see him, to hold him. To be in this room with him, both of us giddy and happy. 

“Tell me, why would you rather die than live?” he asks, sounding oddly curious, head tilting beside me. I can feel the fake hair of the mask running over my collar as he moves. 

“Let me see Josh again…”

He leans back, almost surprised by my answer. He lets go of my hands, standing back on the floor, watching me. I try sitting up, my whole body aching in pain from the small movements. I’m not going to make it out of here, not alive anyhow. If he doesn’t kill me, then my movements will probably open the wound on my thigh again, making me bleed out. I already feel a bit pale and dizzy. 

“You’re in a woman’s worst imaginable situation, and you would die… to see Josh again?” He asks, voice full of confusion, not as scary as before. Maybe it’s because I don’t care anymore, but he seems so surprised he falls a bit out of character. Who is he under that mask? 

I nod my head to the question, tears still flowing. But the funny thing is, I don’t feel them anymore. My mouth acts before my brain, and I blurt out the secret words I’ve been holding on to since last year. 

“I love him” 

“A bit honest now, are we?” 

“Doesn’t everyone get honest when their lives are about to end?” I counter, shaking my head a bit. At least that’s what I’ve heard. 

“Yes, I suppose they do” 

“Aren’t you going to take advantage of me? Hurt me? Kill me?” 

He sits down on the chair again, watching my face intently. I don’t move, after all, everything hurts. Everything and nothing at once. Because of him, because of Josh. 

“No I will not, now tell me, before you die, is there something else you wish to be truthful about?” 

I shake my head, not knowing why, but I can’t stop myself. I need to have said it out loud at least once, telling the world the things I should’ve said before. My voice is emotionless as I start, not knowing what to feel. 

“I love Josh, I always have. I wish I told him while he was still here, before he was killed… by you” 

I look up, but the mask is making it hard to see his expression. At the thought of his death, I feel my anger flare again, but my body is still too weak to act on it. 

“Honestly… admitting your feelings, displaying wishes and regrets. Now tell me, how long have you had these feelings? And how long have you wanted to tell him?” 

“The only one I’m telling those things to is Josh” 

He snickers, that nasty dark voice back. As if he deserves to know my secrets, the extent of my feelings. 

“Of course you’re refusing to tell me, too shy? Or what, Princess?” 

“I imagined everything would be different than how it turned out this year” I admit, not bothering to answer his teasing remarks. He’s making fun of my pain, and I’ll not answer that. 

“Oh, you were thinking that you and Josh were going to be the ones in your room? And doing what? Feeling each other, kissing? Well, we can’t have that, can we? If I didn’t kill him, I wouldn’t have you all to myself” 

I look up, but I can’t bother trying to show my contempt. I’m so tired, so exhausted. Even making faces and harsh comments take their toll on me. I speak, but it’s slow and emotionless. 

“I know that statement is meant to fill me with a bunch of questions, but I don’t care about them” 

He hums, nodding his head as he takes it in, knowing his method didn’t work. I still keep my posture, not moving myself from it. He stares at me intently, looking deep into my glossy eyes, still wet and red. 

“You just don’t care anymore what happens to you, do you?” 

I hum, not giving a verbal answer. He sits himself forward, hand rubbing together, as if in thought. 

“You admit it? The fact that you’ve lost all care?”  

I hum again, not knowing where he’s getting at. 

“Completely broken, completely empty” 

I sigh, sick and tired of his mind games. I know what he’s playing at, it’s the same banter I’ve heard people try to use before. 

“You know you’ve basically said the same thing three times now? Josh was a lot more original with his wording than you” 

I can feel his smirk grow from under the mask, a small laughter escaping his lips as he sits up again. He tilts his head, his distorted voice sounding from under there. 

“Making comparisons, are we?” 

“You can’t compare an angel to a demon” I answer, thinking back about him. What would he say if he were here? He would’ve saved me at least. I don’t know if he’s stronger than this man. Truth is, they’ve got quite the similar build, so I don’t know. If I helped him, we might be able to. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment” he says, and I don’t answer. He can think about it however he likes, I’ll not sit here and explain it to him. Another chuckle comes over him, enjoying the change in my attitude. I keep my eyes on him, not as afraid anymore. My adrenaline is not pumping as much anymore, and the pain starts worsening. 

“Not answering anymore, Princess?” 

Again, here’s something strangely familiar with the nickname as well. I can swear that someone I know has called me that before, but only a few times, not as much as this guy does. How does he know me?

“The only one I want to talk to is Josh… when I see him again” 

“Josh, Josh, Josh… Why would you only talk to him in particular?”

I let out a small scoff. This madman is not that dumb. He’s been collecting information about all of us, so my declaration did not go over his head a couple of minutes ago. 

“You already know, because he’s the love of my life” I state, not having said exactly those words before. It’s true, since we were kids, I loved him. Platonically at first, but it evolved, and got stronger. And now, it’s too late. 

“Finally, someone’s being honest with themselves” 

I lower my eyes, looking over at his piercing stare. His eyes still got a hint of amusement in them. I want to change that, I want to hurt him, kill him. 

“I’m the only honest person in this room” I state, trying to seduce him into talking. 

“I guess I haven’t told you much, but do you really expect me to?” 

“I want to know something before I die” I lean forward, ignoring the striking pain in my thigh. That movement definitely opened my wound again, and I feel streaks of hot redness running down my leg. 

“Ask anything, and I’ll see if I can be honest with you” 

My question is ready, it has been since the first time I heard his voice. The anticipation and wondering is driving me crazy. 

“Who are you” 

He smiles under the mask, there’s no denying it, already having heard the same question several times before. 

“My identity? All you want to know is who I am?”

“Yes” 

He nods his head, amused by my straight forward request. I try to keep my reply short, after all, getting this information out of him means no side-tracking. 

“Well, since you’ve been so cooperative for the time being, I’ll be honest” 

I wait, trying to hide my curiosity. It’s not hard to mask it, pain overtaking me anyway. 

“Are you sure that’s what you want to know? Not going to guess, make some assumptions?” 

“No” I state firmly, not taking any more of his bullshit. 

“I am… an individual who doesn’t always feel like himself” 

I sigh, hand going to my thigh, trying to slow the bleeding. 

“Are you that much of a coward? Can’t answer a simple question?” 

“Fine, okay, okay… I’m someone who doesn’t always feel… human” 

I sigh again, a small part of me realising that we might not come to an agreement. I try a different direction, mumbling something underneath my breath, just high enough that he can hear it. 

“If you’re that ugly, you can just say so. I won’t judge” 

“What did you just say?” 

And he took the bait.  

“Nothing” 

His head shifts to me, sitting straighter. He’s offended, I know he is. If I can continue playing on his ego, maybe I’ll get my answer. 

“No. ‘If you're that ugly, you can just say so’, is that what you said, Princess?” 

“I don’t remember” I lie, shaking my head weakly. 

“Excuse me? You suddenly don’t remember, as if I’m supposed to believe that” 

“I’m sleep deprived, haven’t had water in many hours, body exhausted from running, and I’m bleeding out. All factors can lead to struggles to remember things” 

He nods his head, suddenly stopping and looking up at me. 

“You’re bleeding?” 

He looks over me, seeing my leg, covered in red. It’s still oozing out, but it will still take a while for me to die from it. His body starts twitching, as if panicked. 

“Why didn’t you say so?” he asks, sounding a bit worried. I’m taken by surprise as he runs over to the closet grabbing a few sheets and ripping them up into smaller pieces. Has he been in the lodge before? Maybe he uses it when the Washingtons aren’t here. He comes back, kneeling down, starting to wrap them around me. I stop him, pushing his hands away. 

“I’ll ask you one more time. Who are you?” 

He looks up, meeting my eyes through the mask. They almost look sad, guilty. 

“A monster…”

He shifts his gaze, turning his attention back to my wound. He reaches behind into another drawer, pulling out a pair of scissors, starting to cut up my pants, making the wound more exposed. As he rips the fabric off, he throws the sharp object out the open window, with surprising accuracy. Probably to keep me from getting my hands on it and stabbing him. 

“Does this monster have a name?” 

He sighs, finishing up wrapping my thigh, stopping the bleeding. 

“My name is… Josh” 

My eyes widen, shaking my head as I try to push myself away from him. I can’t, my leg hurting too much to move. This is another sick trick to mess with me, to mess with my feelings. He notes my expression, my shocked eyes and disgust. 

“What, don’t you believe me? Don’t you think I’m being honest?” 

“This might seem funny to you, but I saw you kill him you fucker. Don’t you dare taint his name like this” I state, fury rushing through my body. He chuckles darkly again, the sympathy that once was there for me, gone. 

“You really don’t believe me. I’m your childhood friend, your high school crush and college study partner. I’m Joshua Washington” he whispers, coming closer to me. I can sense the amusement and glory radiating from him, and it makes me sick. 

“You’re not, you’re hiding behind that damn mask of your like a coward, trying to make me believe your lies”

“Don’t want to accept the truth, huh?” he asks, voice a bit less disoriented. He’s changing his voice as he speaks, but I won’t have it. 

“It’s not the truth, he’s dead, you killed him!” I scream, leaning closer to his face, as much as I can in my condition. 

“Oh princess, I’m right in front of you” 

“The only thing right in front of me is a monster. A psychopath in a mask, claiming to be Josh, my Josh. You’re not tricking me”

He laughs, his voice changing more and more, getting less darker and more real. Shaking his head and clicking his tongue, he looks up at me again. 

“Are you really that hard-headed?” 

“Why should I believe anything you say? You have no support for your claims, you’re even down in negatives, because he is dead!” I shout, voice still broken and hoarse. My throat hurts, feeling like I’m ripping off a bandaid every time I form a word. 

“Oh, you want evidence?”

“You don’t have any”

He chuckles, hands going up to the base of his mask. He takes a breath, slowly pulling it off. I watch as he does, waiting patiently while he drags it off his head. Finally, he reveals himself. 

I can’t believe my eyes, and I furrow my brows in confusion. This doesn’t make any sense, this doesn’t work, no. How can this be? I saw him die, I saw him get cut in half by a saw. I’ve been running from a crazy maniac who was going to kill me, and it was all him. I’ve poured my heart out, thinking I was going to die, and he’s been sitting here, laughing at me. 

“Surprise, princess” 

“No” 

“What do you mean ‘no’?” 

I shake my head, seeing his smile as he keeps nodding, contradicting me. 

“You’re not real”

“I’m sitting right in front of you” 

I reach my hand out, fingers gracing over his cheek, feeling his skin. His hand comes up to mine, pressing it further in on him. He leans on it, still a smile on his face. I feel tears start to flow down my cheeks again. He’s alive, he’s here. 

“Y-you…”

He nods, urging me to continue, but I don’t. I can’t use my words, I don’t know what to say, so he talks instead, voice beaming with pleasure and delight. His eyes are not like I remember. There’s a sort of darkness to them, insanity. 

“Yes Princess, it’s me, no more games, no tricks, no lies. It’s just me, just Josh”

I shake my head, pulling my hand away from him, earning a hurt look back. These words, these explanations, these events. This is not the Josh I know. 

“You don’t sound like yourself, you don’t behave like this” 

“You’re right! So much has changed in the last year, oh I can’t begin to tell you all my plans for the others” he exclaims, walking around the room, being happy. 

“What?”

“Well, this was all a traumatic event to bring us closer, right? The relief in your eyes when it was me. You needed to lose me to finally be able to tell someone, so why not tell me yourself!?” 

“What the hell, Josh” I whimper, head hurting from it all. 

“Oh, but this is just the start! Now, it’s time to get revenge for my sisters, and after that, we can be together, right? I mean, I never meant for you to get hurt, but it's okay because now you can stay here while I play out the other things I’ve got planned. As long as you stay here, you’ll be safe, just as I want you to be” 

I stand up, pain shooting through my body as I do. I feel desperate, too desperate. I need the others, and my voice is almost all used up. He watches me intently, hands going around my body to steady me. I shove past him, walking over to the door, starting to push the dresser. He just watches, wondering if I’ll be able to do it. Luckily, I manage, standing on my only good leg. I unlock the door, which makes him walk over, taking hold of me. 

“No, we can’t have any of that, get down again” he commands, sitting me down on the bloodied bed again, walking over and locking the door. 

“What are you going to do to me? Just do it now and get it over with, shoot me, dissect me… Please” 

He laughs, looking at me as if I’ve made a joke. 

“Oh, Princess, you’re not afraid of me, are you?” 

I’m silent, not daring to answer. He stops laughing, noticing my expression. He then shakes his head, standing up and walking around the room again. He looks troubled, and a little worried, like he’s fighting a battle against himself. 

“No, there’s nothing to be scared of, I’m making sure that you’re safe, so nothing happens to you, you understand, yeah you do! Think about that while I finish up the prank, okay? I’ll be up to check on you in a while”

He walks to the door, taking the key from inside, opening it, and locking it from outside. I look around, his skull-clown mask on the ground, bloodied fabric, bloody bed and the open window. Crisp, cold winter air flowing inside. I don’t know what to do.

[irradiatedsnakes]

little billy is an existential threat to dialtown's very universe and i can prove it: a game theory

i dont trust this little beast.

prior to the roger dlc i didn't think a whole lot of him. he's fun, he's funny, the whole colossal billy bit is great. but i didn't consider him much, his greater role in the story. his whole fabron-virus deal in the roger good route got me to reconsider..basically everything about him, including stuff on the extras pages & his appearances in mingling scenes in ch3.

i think that little billy is aware of dialtown's universe/reality on a level most characters aren't, more similar to gingi and god. colossal billy, on some level, i believe is absolutely real, and has connections to the nothing beyond the edges of dt's reality. a few points, ordered from (imo) least to most substantiated:

1. billy is one of few characters that ever break the fourth wall

dialtown has a lot of fourth wall breaks. gingi, in some fashion, is aware of the various branching routes the game can take, it references other routes frequently, they're aware of the merged-ch3-timeline being weird in some sense. they're responsible for the vast majority of fourth wall breaks in the game. god, of course, does, like his UI-hijack during one of the mingling scenes. other than those two, fourth wall breaks are few and far between (i think norm does one?), so i think it's significant that billy does it at least twice.

firstly is the mingling scene where he keeps interrupting mingus from having the last word in, specifically referencing the screen fading to black:

secondly, and i think more notably (since mingus does kind of do it herself there), is in the roger route, in the ending where you swallow the usb stick and shit yourself and die. in addition to all the other ominous bullshit, there's this line:

which, yeah, end card. not much else to say there.

admittedly, i do think this is the weakest point here on its own- as mentioned before, mingus and norm do break the fourth wall on their own at some point in time, i believe once each. that being said, i do think it helps build a case for billy's awareness of dialtown's reality as we move forward to the next points, and is very relevant in the context of the rest of billy's everything.

2. god is afraid of little billy (and given who else god is afraid of, that worries me)

okay, so, god. fascinating guy. i think some of the most interesting stuff about him is what unsettles him. according to god, time in dialtown's universe works like a straight line- rather than how we might usually conceptualize the branching paths of time (or, say, branching routes in a visual novel) like a tree, time in DT is a straight line. a timeline begins, happens, ends, and another begins, happens with minute differences, and ends, so on.

god isn't omniscient, he's just a guy whose been around for an unfathomable amount of time, experiencing timeline after timeline, start to finish. he knows things that are about to happen (mingling gravel bit) because he's seen so much shit that basically everything becomes predictable.

ergo, the things that scare god are things that he can't predict, things that he doesn't understand. case in point, he finds gingi's existence as being exclusive to dt's timeline unsettling:

what else is god scared of? well, callum crown, of course.

whatever callum did to enact the dialup is something that messed with the very fabric of reality- so much so that god himself is beholden to the objecthead rule- and that "scare[s him] shitless".

yknow who else god is scared shitless of?

yeah.

3. billy is directly linked to enc0unter, plus the whole event in which he Hacked An Entire Man

firstoff, just to go over the enc0unter connections here.

most obvious is the eyes and teeth motif, and the images in the background (seen on the monitors in fabron's room and omair's shop) being THE enc0unter image, which has been said to be representative of weak spots in dialtown's (crumbling) reality. keep this passage in mind for later.

worth noting, fabron's font while possessed is special elite- the only other time in the game this font is used is in enc0unter's scene. in addition to the literal eyes and teeth images being used, the motif is reinforced in fabron's dialogue, further drawing a connection between colossal billy and enc0unter:

("many eyes always watching", notably, also being something scrawled on the side of norm's shack, presumably by norm, alongside the warning about not drinking the water (on account of the lead). "many eyes always gazing" is also one of the possible menu quotes that can appear.)

keep the big blink line in mind for later.

i think the severity of what billy was able to do with his little virus is also notable. like, and i don't think i can put enough emphasis on this, little billy hacked a man. he hijacked a human person's entire shit. he made images appear on broken monitors that weren't plugged in. he made a virus so powerful it instantly spread to every computer in town. it fucked up the radio, it fucked up the phone lines. you shouldn't just be able to do that- billy has a frightening amount of power.

3.5. a couple other scattered observations

3.5a in dietown, little billy immediately goes full eldritch. additionally, regular-timeline billy appears to be in some way aware of this, as his codename in the ransomware is xXBelothXx, little bel'oth being his name in dietown. worth noting dietown tracks are also used for the ransomware scenes.

3.5b color symbolism is extremely important in dialtown, chief among that being the use of purple (and green, but especially purple). all of the members of the mingling (save for god) have some element of purple in their designs- for most of them, that's clothing: stabby and shooty and abel all have their suits, bunny has his shirt, while theoroar has his bandana. billy's head is purple- the only one whose purple element is PART of them and not just something they're wearing. given the significance of purple in the rest of the game (glados voice) i just thought that was interesting

4. pulling it all together

so, what does this all mean?

well, dialtown's reality is in trouble. the constitution of dt's universe has been in trouble for a long time- hell, the wormhole existed even before the dialup. but i think it's safe to say that whatever fundamental rule of reality callum grabbed and fucked around with to enact the dialup in the first place has had knock-on effects for the stability of the timeline (remember that whole thing about how timelines have definitive starts and ends? yeah).

i believe billy is a symptom of this breakdown. when fabron is possessed he says "the big blink" is coming.. now, i don't know if billy is truly something From Beyond or if he's just some shithead kid who somehow got a glimpse into things people shouldn't see (i favor the latter, personally), but the way i see it.. i think what little billy calls colossal billy, is, or is closely related in some fashion to, enc0unter.

enc0unter is nothing. it's beyond the edge of the universe, all the Somethings, it's the opposite of things existing.

which, imo, is why it's represented by eyes, teeth, and faces.

when the dialup happened, eyes, teeth, faces- these things ceased to exist. they were deleted from reality, they became nothing, so that's why the nothing IS the eyes and teeth of everyone on earth, why it's eyes and teeth that appear where reality wears thin and begins to crack.

i don't know exactly what enc0unter is Doing, or what the culminating event, the bomb-under-the-table exploding, the big blink is going to actually look like. but i don't think it'll be good, and i think that billy is very interested in that eventuality.

now, billy's own personal motivations? pure malarkey. i don't think he's part of some big plan, or anything like that- his favorite activity is tormenting the cashier at the local cinema, and his big scary hackerman deal was intentionally foiled by just removing a usb stick from a computer. he sets the town on fire just for fun. little billy just wants to see the world burn for a laff, and i fear that when "the big blink" does come, that might be exactly what he gets.

thanks for reading. bozo

[rebel-wrath]

I'm something of a chaos goblin at heart, my DND alignment is always chaotic, and the only use I have for rule books is toilet paper, unless their on my kobo because that would not be comfortable. Or sanitary.

There is one rule I've found that cannot be ignored if you want to grow as a writer. Everything else you can burn. Show don't tell is great as long as you understand where to tell not show. Proper spelling and grammar can be ignored, if you understand how and can justify it. Don't infodump except when you are required to, because there's times when you have to. Don't head hop unless you're using a narrative style that allows you to head hop. Every rule except this one comes with caveats, and growth as a writer isn't measured in how well you learn the rules and can stick to them, but in how well you learn when they don't apply, and can write around them.

Don't believe me? The first Discworld novel starts with an infodump. It has to, because readers expect fantasy worlds to still be globes, and if you're breaking that rule you have to start by stating outright that you are breaking it. There are incredibly popular books filled with head hopping (the thriller genre especially). Even spelling can be ignored if you want to write in a dialect, or have a POV character writing the story who struggles with this.

I'm posting a serial story on here three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) under the tag #NofNA which repeatedly breaks rules that are constantly said to be inviolable. It works, because I write comedy, because my narrative style makes it work, and because I actively seek ways to break rules all the time.

So, what's the one rule that can't be broken? It's WRELA. And it's the most important writing rule there is, and the only one you should never break.

WRELA. Well, technically, W.R.E.L.A.

Write. Write something. Write anything. It doesn't matter what you write, and it doesn't matter how good it is. Write.

Read. Read your own work back. Read old pieces you wrote years ago, and the thing you just finished. Read it out loud. Read it to yourself. Read it to others. Read things others have written. Read comments, blog posts, movie reviews, short stories, fanfic, scripts, and novels. Read the back of the cereal box, the receipt when you buy something, the terms and conditions, the small print. Read skeets and subtitles and emails and the sms from your granny, God bless her.

Edit. Go over the work you have written, again and again if you have to. Edit it once or edit it 1000 times. That story I'm serialising? It took me fifteen years (on and off) and two lifetimes (when I believed I was cis and after I learned that I'm trans) to write, and the finished version is as different a book to the original as it was possible to be whilst still being about the same thing.

Learn. Learn from your writing, from your reading, from your editing. Don't learn the rules. Don't take what worked for Vonnegut or King or Aristotle and blindly apply it to your work. Learn yourself. Learn who you are, what your voice is, what you're trying to say to the world. Learn how to say it. Some of those rules from other writers might work well with you. Some of them won't. That's fine. Learn what makes you a better writer.

Apply. Put the things you learned from the last piece of fiction into the next piece of fiction you write. Then do it again. Learn from that and put that into the next and then again.

The next section is me using my writing to back up my previous statements. It's a bit "markety" because I'm discussing my writing. Feel free to skip it if you want.

Okay, let's back this up: NofNA, Noun of Noun and Adjective, is a fantasy comedy that satirises our world and parodies other books. I have a few chapters up already, if you want to read it. It's about a transgender princess who joins a magic mirror reality show called Heroic Quest in return for a magical gender transition (she's a trans woman). Structurally, it has similarities to Discworld novels (one thing I learned was footnotes are a pain in the ass). Another thing I learned was that I had to keep editing the narration because I wanted to directly comment on the story as the narrator and it wouldn't work.

So I applied what I learned to the next book I wrote, Attack of the 50 ft Trans Woman.

This is a story about a Trans Woman who undergoes an experimental procedure to change gender. She grows to fifty feet, and the government sends the army after her even though she's done nothing wrong. So she heads to London to have a word with the Prime Minister.

But I knew what I'd learned from Noun of Noun and Adjective, I knew I wanted to narrate however I pleased. So the prologue makes it clear that the story is actually being told to you by an alien. As the alien narrator, I was able to interrupt the narration, go off on tangents, make jokes, and just generally be weird. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it does. Even the huge dance scene near the end works. There's a scene from the POV of a terf, Karen, that doesn't have pronouns in it and was an absolute pain in the ass to write, but it works because the narrator is respecting Karen's insistence that Karen doesn't have pronouns. Therefore, no pronouns are used to refer to Karen in Karen's scene except the occasional first person when directly quoting Karen's tweets because Karen does not respect Karen's choice to not use pronouns for Karen.

Seriously one of the most difficult things I've ever written, but it backs up my point that you can ignore any rules you please if 1) you can justify it, and 2) you can pull it off. I ignored basic grammar itself there.

Attack of the 50 ft Trans woman is available from all major ebook retailers and a paper version is planned for later this year

Readers have told me it made them laugh, it made them sad, it made them angry. Since anger was the point, I can happily say it works.

It was also the most fun I've ever had writing and it took me a week to do the first draft. Remember, writing is meant to be fun, and when I applied what I learned from the previous book, I went from a book that took me 15 years from start to finish to a book that took only a few months.

So I took what I learned from Attack and I applied it to Bigoted Book Burners Bloodily Bludgeoned by Badly Burnt Books. I wanted to write about book burnings, and I decided the best genre for what I wanted to write was a horror. This story had a more traditional narration, but it's essentially two different stories told simultaneously, and has a bulleted list of content warnings a page long. The even chapters are the story of a kid growing up trans when the only parent she has is her terf mum. It was horrendous to write, there were days I could only manage a paragraph. I'm not looking forward to the edit.

The odd number chapters start with the book burning, with the grimoire of a witch being thrown on the fire, then causing all the books in the village to animate and kill people. It's a massively over the top splatterpunk extravaganza and is hilarious and the perfect antidote to the even number chapters.

What I learned from Attack was that I'm not a very reliable free flow writer. I need plans. And so every chapter of B5bB3 was planned before it was written. I could see how dark some scenes were, and it meant I knew where to balance them out with correspondingly funny scenes. I learned more about character agency and development.

And from B5bB3 I learned about building narrative tension, about holding off the horrible so it's not overwhelming until suddenly bang! it is overwhelming, and I'm applying that to TWTSQ, my current WIP.

B5bB3 will be out later this year, hopefully around June.

There's other books I've written, under various other names, but I'm only discussing the ones I write as Caledonia Fife. But everything I've written and everything I've read has taught me about writing, and I can honestly say that the books I'm putting out now, under this name, are so much incredibly better than the first book I put out in 2010 under a different name.

So if you want to be the best writer you can be:

Write

Read

Edit

Learn

Apply

[bengiyo]

Ben’s Queer Cinema Reviews #1

I often spend a lot of my writing time on BL reactions and reviews. However, I came to BL through queer cinema, and so I want to devote more space on my blog this year to the queer films I also watch along the way. Like the BL Blurbs, I’ll post these probably once a month as a round up of what I’ve watched recently. Today I’ll react to Queer, High Tide, and Paradise of Thorns. Spoilers ahead.

Queer:  A Disturbingly Charming Look at Addiction

When I first learned of this film, I was really excited to see Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey cast as the leads. Both are well-trained and extremely talented actors, and I knew they would give earnest, committed experiences. We got far more than I expected from these two in what evolves into a mesmerizing display of addiction. Yet what lingers with me the most is how singularly I understood the emotional gap between the characters and its commentary on queer existence. 

Craig uses his quintessential charm in what might be his most unlikeable character to date, and I was compelled by how much I couldn’t look away from the mess that was William Lee, an American expat living in 1950s Mexico to sate his desire for drugs and flesh. His pathetic attempts to cajole and entice men to his bed consistently land as weak and a bit sad rather than aggressive or perverse. The consistent layer of polite disdain most characters express for Lee stands out alongside Lee’s clear decision to ignore it. 

Starkey plays the hot twink in a way that comes across as effortless. His character remains completely unknowable throughout the film, and yet the ravenous way he plays Eugene Allerton’s food and sexual habits makes him so alluring. Eugene constantly surprises William and viewers with his willingness to partake in Lee’s escapades, and even care for him when Lee gets sick. Yet, every time he goes cold on Lee it’s completely reasonable and expected. I sympathized with Lee’s desperation to know and understand Eugene, even as I understood that there was no way that Eugene could ever give Lee all the things he needed. 

As we get deeper into the film, we learn that Lee is addicted to narcotics, and he cites it as the primary reason he couldn’t remain in America with his “condition.” He takes Eugene with him on a mission to meet someone who can give him access to ayahuasca, and the two go on a psychedelic journey that unlocks a deeper connection within them than I think either was ready to experience. The two separate in a way that leaves Lee forever incomplete in a way that I think properly honors the unfinished source material from a controversial writer. Still, I found myself attuned to Lee’s desperate loneliness and self destructive tendencies, as well as the affection and loyalty his friend Joe (Jason Schwartzman) showed him. 

Final Verdict: 8.5, Recommended With Reservations. This is a beautiful, if difficult, film in quite a few ways, what with its surprisingly lurid depictions of sex, frank presentation of drug use, and gross behaviors Lee exhibits. However, for the types of queer cinephiles who still yearn for the complex depictions of queer men before the AIDS crisis, and for those who love to see charmingly messy gay men, I do recommend the film. The painful emotional gap keeping all of the gay men in this film from full connection and community with each other. It lingers like a bad taste on the mouth as a reminder that most of these men are playing around in what would be exotic settings for them to take advantage of what they can’t get back home, and that many of their peers back home will end up selling out their own community when things turn rough.

High Tide: A Melancholic Look at Moving On

In High Tide, Lourenço (Marco Pigossi), a 30-something year-old Brazilian man finds himself floundering in Provincetown at the end of the big tourist season struggling to move on from an unexpected breakup. He traveled to the US to be with his boyfriend, but is abandoned and left in the wind with nothing but a tourist visa. Cared for by the kindly Scott (Bill Irwin), Lourenço makes ends meet by working under the table cleaning short term rentals. One day while swimming, he meets Maurice (James Bland) and a spark grows between them. 

I enjoyed the complex intersectional nature of this film and its look at the cruising culture of places like Provincetown. We get to explore the effects of an HIV exposure and how quickly that can happen alongside the ways wealth and race intersect in queer spaces. Maurice, a tall, beautiful Black man, feels isolated and alone in such a white environment, and yet his wealth and citizenship in some ways makes him more secure than Lourenço. Maurice also offers us the opportunity to examine our presumptions about Black queer masculinity and what pleasure looks like between two men. A difficult moment between Maurice and Scott lingers with me. 

This film had a lot of complex feelings about queer friendship, family and faith, how drugs fit into party culture, and how generational gaps inform queer interactions. The spiral of this film was tense and gripping. My friends and I commented as we went along how expected each new crushing moment felt as things fell apart around Lourenço, and how the film made sure to not paint anyone as unbelievably perfect. The recognizable humanity in every character underscores the emotional conflicts and connections across the entire film. 

Final Verdict: 9: Highly Recommended. This is definitely my favorite of the three films. I found myself revisiting many of the emotions I felt in the untimeliness of the connection in Weekend (2011), and the pain of trying to move on as you age up in the closet in Pit Stop (2013). The bittersweet ending of this film left a memorable impression on me, and I know I’ll be returning to it as a meditation many times in the future. Lourenço’s grief may be one of my favorite experiences I’ve had with queer angst in recent years, alongside All of Us Strangers (2023). Also, Marisa Tomei is a producer and actor in the film!

The Paradise of Thorns: A Violent Glimpse Into Greed and Avarice in a Declining World

The Paradise of Thorns sets us in the fallout of a succession battle after the partner of a gay man dies unexpectedly, and the durian orchard they spent five years building together passes to the partner’s mom instead. While I went into this film with a lot of excited about Jeff Satur playing the lead role of Thongkram, along with Engfa, in a story directed and produced by Boss Kuno, this was not my favorite outing for everyone involved.

Thongkram (Jeff Satur) loses his partner, Sek (Pongsakorn Mettarikanon), to an accidental head injury on their farm. He rushes Sek to the hospital, but he doesn’t possess the legal authority to authorize treatment on Sek’s behalf. Meanwhile, Sek’s mother Saeng (Srida Puapimol) and caretaker Mo (Engfa Waraha) struggle to make the three hour journey to reach the hospital (Saeng no longer has use of her legs, and Mo is on a borrowed motorcycle). Despite humiliating himself, doctors cannot authorize treatment on Sek and he passes away before they arrive.

After they bury Sek, Saeng and Mo move onto the farm and steadily push Thongkram out of his own home. Thongkram tries to fight this in court, but loses badly. Meanwhile, Saeng and Mo bring another young man, Jingna (Harit Buayoi), onto the farm to learn from Thongkram so they can get rid of him. A series of mind games plays out across the film as Mo and Thongkram vie for the trust of Saeng in the hopes of gaining control of the farm after she dies, culminating in a brutal showdown at night.

Final Verdict: 7.5, Recommended With Reservations. For this film, I think many of the ideas rushed ahead without grounding them in accessible character motivation. I think, in particular, Thongkram’s romance with Jingna didn’t track very well for me, nor did the wavering relationship he had with Mo. I think there are probably two or three scenes missing that would have given us the belief that the two of them and Jingna could have made it as a trio before things went to shit, but the film didn’t seem to know how to accomplish that with Saeng holding all the power in the dynamics here. Moreover, I think this film undercut its own messages about queer rights by complicating Sek’s relationship and role in all of the drama here. This film feels strongest as a commentary on poverty and greed as people fight over a durian orchard planted as a monoculture on degraded land more than as a queer film with strong themes and ideas there. Still, it is a beautiful film with compelling performances from Jeff and Engfa. The final showdown is extremely brutal, and I’d advise viewers sensitive to all kinds of violence to watch with caution.

[lqtraintracks]

Writing Interview

Thanks so much for the tag @starquestingfordrarry! <333

how many works do you have on ao3? 337

what's your total ao3 word count? 1,454,047

your top 5 stories by kudos

Right Hand Red (with freakin’ 40,662; sorry, I just noticed that it had ticked over the 40k mark and I’m flabbergasted and so grateful as well <3 )

Hung Like a Horntail

Slip Into My Lover’s Hands

Weeds or Wildflowers written with sdk / @unmistakablyoatmeal

check this hand ‘cause I’m marvelous

do you respond to comments? Er… yes?? Like, very. verrrrry. slowly. But I’ll admit that some will never get answered because I lose steam and then when I start trying again, I start with the newest ones. This might sound horn-tooty, which is not how I intend it, but with the number of stories I’ve written, I get a lot of comments. I’ve found it impossible to keep up, but I do my best, even if my best is sometimes a bit crappy. I do read and appreciate every comment I get though!

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? I don’t really do angsty endings often. When I do, it’s usually a Prongsfoot or something. Of the Drarry fics I’ve written, I have one open ending but it’s still pretty hopeful, and that’s Burning the Ground. 

what's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? All of them. :D My goal in life is to get readers (and myself) to cry with joy at the end of my stories. Some standouts just from memory are Heart Like Neon, Bolts, Take You Home, Jasmine in Bloom, Right Hand Red, Blood and Fire, and The Most Splendid Thing. 

do you write crossovers? Maybe one or two over the last 25 years. So, statistically, not so much. 

have you ever received hate on a fic? LOL of course. :D But I don’t linger on those comments. They’re quite few honestly. 

do you write smut? No, never. 

have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes. 

have you ever had a fic translated? Yes. Quite a few have been. Not even sure how many languages, but I know there are several in Russian, Chinese, and I think both Spanish and Portuguese. 

have you ever co-written a fic? Yes! With the incredibly talented sdk, @the-starryknight, and @nv-md! (And one round robin with like 552 people lol.)

what's your all-time favorite ship? Drarry, my beloved. <3

what's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? I don’t really have wips. I’m a chronic finisher. I did start something last year for a friend’s birthday and then pooped out. I ended up writing her a completely different pairing months later. And then I took some of the vibes and ideas from that unfinished fic and wrote them into other fics that I *did* finish, so… Cannibalism. Yeah. 

what are your writing strengths? LOL finishing things! :D Also: smut, for sure. Humor. Sort of achy, hot romances? My trademark is writing tenderness and filth simultaneously. I’ve gotten good at pacing things well, so that beats and arcs feel well-rounded and satisfying, I think. 

what are your writing weaknesses? Ugh, plot!!! Specifically non-romance-or-pairing-based plotlines are difficult for me. Heavy angst. Also stakes. I struggle to up the stakes for my characters enough to give a big payoff. I struggle to make my characters change enough or to effectively write that change in a satisfying way. (This applies more to my original writing than to fic, I think.)

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I’m not sure what the hot take here is and if there is one I’m missing it. My original novel has a Spanish speaker and he will sometimes slip into Spanish during conversation. I wanted to get that right, so I had a native Spanish speaker (hi @capipuff!) read it to correct my bad Google-translated Spanish. So I guess my thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic is, do your best to get it right?

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?  If I want to write something, I write it. :D 

what's your favorite thing you've ever written? Oof. Wow. I want to say my original novel, even though it’s also more flawed than my fic tends to be. It’s certainly one of the things I’m most proud to have written. <3 Usually my favorite fic is the last thing I’ve written and that’s true right now as well. I love The Most Splendid Thing. But before that, my favorite was probably Jasmine in Bloom, and before that it was Take You Home. Bolts is for sure in the running. Heart Like Neon is way up there as well. As is My Name in Your Mouth, because I love that Teddy Lupin with all my horny heart. 

Okay I'm going to tag some of you fine folks now: Ali, you're it! Also, @writcraft @shiftylinguini @phoebe-delia @wholahoop @saintgarbanzo @academicdisasterfic @citrusses @corvuscrowned @lettersbyelise and @magpiefngrl

[platinumrosetail]

Hey, back at it with another request for Genshin Impact. No crossover this time.

So this time I want to request a Furina!Reader x Neuvillette?

Furina!Reader is someone who reincarnated from our world the moment Furina was 'born' and tries desperately to keep to the plot. Basically, she has a breakdown due to stress and meets a recently reborn and very much still feral and dragony Neuvillette several years too early and well... canon goes into the trash can.

Examples being: Yandere husband Neuvillette, Furina!Reader adopting the Melusines and preventing Carole's death, Furina!Reader fostering Wriothesly because why not, oh and Neuvillette kidnaps Furina!Reader the first time he meets her and well... you can guess what happened. :)

Sorry I tried to be shorter, but I hope this works.

This is wonderful! Very interesting and love the new ideas you added into it! 😁🤩

Warning: noob author, female reader, yandere character, canon divergence a little, and others.

Character: neuvillette.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were panicking, that’s honestly all you could do considering the predicament you somehow found yourself in currently.

Said predicament was that you had somehow reincarnated into Genshin…. As furina…. And not even before one of the traveler arrives, nope! It just had to be even before furina even met neuvilette.

If your hair wasn’t already white then you would have grey hair by now from the stress you gained from reincarnating into furina….

So, you just sucked it up for now and did your best to try and go with canon with a few mild changes. But what you didn’t know was all your hard work would be thrown out the window by a certain someone soon.

You had went out to one of the beaches Fontaine had and to be alone and gather your thoughts but ended up letting out all of your frustration, stress, and worries by crying

You were unaware that you would meet someone that you loved before you reincarnated but he would be quite different to how you previously knew him.

Neuvilette or as how he actually is called in the past leviathan felt a familiar power on the bank of the beach which he calls home, he goes and investigates out of curiosity and to make sure it isn’t a threat.

He wasn’t expecting to see the hydro archon here, especially crying; her tears going into the water of the ocean which was what alerted him of her presence.

When you looked up to try and dry your tears you weren’t expecting a familiar looking man in front of you….. naked.

You squeaked, covered your eyes and looked away as if that would help as it was burned into your mind of what you saw. Your actions confused leviathan as he doesn’t know why you did it, so as to find out why he came closer making you panic as you hear water shift from him walking closer.

He leaned down to your kneeling form and took your hands away from your face. You try to focus on his face as you know it would be dangerous if you looked a bit more down, mostly to keep yourself safe as you didn’t want to pass out flustered in front of your anime crush.

Leviathan looks at the expression that you have as you looked at him; trying to keep eye contact with him though would sometimes shift for half a second.

He had a sudden thought that you needed to be his even if you were the one to have gotten his power from his past life, he still wants to have you as his…. Mate. Yes, mate sounds right, he thinks as he continues to look at you with narrowed eyes before picking you up.

You didn’t know if you were going to get killed by neuvillette or what, after all you did have his power from his previous life and he might be mad especially since this was way too early to meet him than canon so he might react differently to how he originally acted when he and furina first met so you were taken aback when he picked you up out of nowhere and started heading back into the ocean.

You had been too stunned to realize that you were being taken to his home by him; and breathing under water but you chalk that up to being the hydro archon, that you didn’t think to try and stop him, that is if you could considering he might change his mind and kill you if he isn’t planning to do that at his home.

And with that you had became his mate and wife, but to be honest you weren’t complaining as you had always dreamed of this and read fanfics about him so you guess it’s alright to indulge a little bit.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks past that you put your foot down and told him that you were needed at Fontaine and you needed to go now. He tried to argue about it but you weren’t budging which made him reluctantly give up after you gave a compromise that thankfully he agreed upon.

You finally arrived back to Fontaine, after getting leviathan some clothes. Apparently his name was leviathan and furina gave him a nickname so as to not cause fear to fontaines people, you don’t know why that wasn’t said in the game but for now you have bigger things to worry about.

You gave leviathan the name he had in the game so the people of Fontaine won’t be as wary as they could be if you decided to keep his original name as he was known in a bad light before you brought him, thankfully only known in his dragon form so he can be in his human form for now.

Like what with the drama that started after you shared with your subjects that you were now married and was expecting a child now. After you finally settled everything about the married and having a child drama you can finally relax…..

You spoke too soon…. Right after you started relaxing you came across the melusines near their birth father’s corpse, so you did what you could only think to do, adopt them as your daughters, you hope that even though you adopted them that things would still work out, of course you made sure that Fontaine won’t have anyone bully your daughters as it would be jail time or death if they picked on your daughters for not being human like in appearance which thankfully saved Carole from what happened to her in canon.

Afterwards your son was born and then you could relax a bit, your darling husband took care of everything after that so that you could rest with luciel; the name your son was given to by both you and leviathan/neuvillette.

It’s been a year or so after your son was born and it was going great!…. Until one day your son vanished. Neither you nor neuvillette knew where luciel was and was growing worried as the day goes by. Everyone in Fontaine was in high alert until one of your daughter found him and another child together.

You recognized this child as wriosthley, and it seemed this was before he was adopted by those evil people that shouldn’t be called parents. So you adopted him and at first he was a bit skeptical as you figured he experienced many horrors that would make him feel that way and you made sure to take your time making him feel comfortable, thankfully he warmed up to all of you after you had him try tea for the first time in his life.

After some of the events from the game happened you were relaxing while playing with a cat when a disguised arlecchino attacked you. You were so distracted that you forgot this scene.

Your screams of fright was alerted to your son who wasn’t far as he had also wanted to relax as well as protect you but he was doing something that was meant to be for a second which was the golden opportunity for arlecchino to strike.

Luciel immediately sprung into action; dropping what he was holding which was a cake for you to help you relax by having something you loved to eat.

Luciel stood in front of you, protecting you from the disguised arlecchino. He didn’t have to fight her as she ran away so as to return and think more of what she should do after discovering that the gnosis wasn’t with you.

The gnosis was in your husband’s hands as you felt it was wrong to have it since it was his power in the first place. Thankfully you had a plan to take care of the prophecy.

(A/n: hope yall like it! I had fun doing this! Anyway I don’t think I have anything else to say this time so hope yall have a wonderful day/evening/night!!!)

[darkstarofchaos]

So I'm still seeing people claim that Prowl abused Chromedome and people are apparently interested in seeing me take Chromedome apart, so you know what? Let's do it. Under the cut we will take a look at the characters as they were during the events of the Shadowplay three-parter, their relationship, and whether there was, in fact, abuse happening.

Let's start with Chromedome. Specifically, let's start with an aspect of his character that people tend to get wrong: his interest in mnemosurgery. Because it is his interest. People often blame Prowl for his getting involved with mnemosurgery, but that's honestly not fair to Chromedome. This mech loved the subject, and didn't make the slightest attempt to hide it. And it wasn't just mnemosurgery - check out how he talks about the Institute:

In addition to the above, Prowl asks Chromedome earlier if he believes in the Institute. Chromedome admits that he doesn't know, but "the idea of the Institute fascinates me." This is like, his favorite conspiracy theory tied to his favorite subject, and y'all want to act like none of it ever mattered to him? Yeah, mnemosurgery ruined his life, but at least do him the service of treating it like the personal tragedy it is instead of something horrible Prowl forced on him.

Moving on, Chromedome appears to have been a very impatient and short-tempered enforcer: he's happy to chase down suspects and talk to witnesses, but seems to be frustrated by the slower parts of investigation (or perhaps he's just frustrated by Prowl. We'll get there). He does pull his weight in finding and interpreting clues, though, and generally comes across as the older - or at least more experienced - member of the duo.

Prowl, by contrast, feels surprisingly young, and even idealistic (well. For him). He believes the recent societal unrest will settle without a war, he's upset by the idea that the system he works to uphold might be corrupt, and he's philosophical about his Functionist upbringing, which he claims taught him to "respect" rules. He also seems fairly inexperienced as an enforcer; not a rookie by any means, but he's never been in a fight, he doesn't know what a "classic" case of spark rejection looks like, and he's not sure how to handle the discovery of the Institute because he doesn't know if any laws are being broken. Chromedome refers to him as a "desk jockey" in narration, so it's possible he's simply new to being on the field.

So, what does his relationship with Chromedome actually look like?

For the most part, they're actually pretty civil with each other. They can discuss their work without fighting, they casually bring up other topics in conversation, and they've shared parts of their lives with each other - Chromedome, his interest in mnemosurgery, and Prowl, details of his upbringing. Just looking at the few scenes we're given, they seem comfortable with each other and get along pretty well.

There are a few things, though.

I can see how one might place Prowl in the wrong here; he words his assumption in an accusatory way, and Chromedome's reaction suggests that this is normal - that Prowl blames him for things and never apologizes if he's wrong. Except Prowl is wrong and he does apologize. Further, Chromedome is literally an unreliable narrator - his narration mocks Prowl for being focused on the job instead of being glad he wasn't hurt, but Prowl expresses that exact sentiment. So is the takeaway that Prowl is being unusually reasonable, or that Chromedome is accusing him of behavior he doesn't actually partake in?

Here, we see Prowl showing off, otherwise known as doing his job. It seems that Chromedome is still mad at Prowl for staying behind while he went after their suspect. It's understandable that he would want backup, but he also knows Prowl has never been in a fight. So, to put it another way, he's mad at Prowl for not putting himself in a potentially dangerous situation that he isn't prepared to handle. What a nice guy.

Let's take things down a notch.

Here, we see that each mech wants the other to stay with him. Prowl is admittedly a bit selfish about it, having assumed Chromedome would leave with him instead of asking. But more importantly, we're starting to establish a pattern: Chromedome implies that he would stay on Cybertron (where the danger is), and he seems upset that Prowl won't do the same. With no way to determine his tone, we don't know if that upset takes the form of hurt or anger, or both. But he does seem to interpret it as abandonment, and once again, he would rather have Prowl with him in a dangerous situation that Prowl wants to avoid. So I guess they're both being a bit selfish here.

There's one more event I want to talk about. After Orion decides they're going to steal the Matrix, Prowl refuses to take part, and is upset that Chromedome is putting his job on the line by joining in. But before he leaves, he promises not to tell anyone about the heist if Orion makes Chromedome stay behind.

Chromedome says that he never really forgave Prowl for leaving without an explanation, and that's somewhat understandable. He wants to help Orion, he considers it important, and Prowl just left. It's reasonable to be upset when someone walks out on you like that. What isn't reasonable is that Chromedome's next piece of narration begins with, "I was taking my irritation out on a wall when Pax appeared".

So he's angry at Prowl and he responds with violence. Obviously not violence directed at Prowl, and we have no evidence (at least at this point in his life) that he's ever physically harmed Prowl. But he's shown plenty of disregard for Prowl's comfort and safety, so this throwaway line is certainly a bit concerning.

So, was there any abuse between them? Let's recap:

Prowl makes one accusatory remark that he apologizes for. He never mocks or insults Chromedome, and rarely criticizes him. He's a little bossy while on the job, and "controlling" once, when he wants Chromedome kept out of Orion's heist (because he doesn't want him getting in trouble). He expresses concern for Chromedome's safety, tells him "Good job" when he correctly identifies a glass sample, and thought he would leave with him if war broke out. Prowl is blunt and not very good with emotions, but he obviously cares.

Even ignoring the mockery in the narration, Chromedome scathingly refers to Prowl doing what he's good at (which also happens to be his job) as "showing off". He's resentful, he lashes out, he wants to be Prowl's first priority. He never shows concern for Prowl's well-being, never says anything nice to or about him ("he's really good at spatial computation" doesn't count if he's insulting him in the same breath), and the only indication that he cares about their relationship at all is that he gets angry when he feels jilted.

And no, Chromedome's abandonment issues are not Prowl's fault, or his problem. The mech who goes on to delete his own memories of three dead husbands instead of dealing with the grief does not get to blame someone else for his maladaptive coping mechanisms.

In summary, I don't think their relationship was abusive, at least at the time presented to us. I do think Chromedome was a self-centered jerk, and it's possible that Prowl refuses to back down in most of their fights because he thinks he's right. But a relationship isn't abusive just because it could benefit from couple's therapy.

Or because you hate one of the people involved.

[ladysharmaa]

Wild Hearts

Jasper Hale x original character

Summary: When a new girl arrives at Forks, she seems to catch Jasper Hale's attention. However, he and his family are hiding a secret. What they don't know is that Evelyn has a secret of her own

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Evelyn had taken the news that she and Jasper were mates surprisingly well. However, she had asked the vampire to take it slow and not to rush things. Jasper had accepted without a second thought; all he wanted was for Evelyn to be happy. He would wait hundreds of years for her if need be.

But the two had grown much closer. They exchanged small, innocent touches, were always glued together when they were together, and none of this went unnoticed by the rest of the school. The girls looked at Evelyn with envy, both for having caught Jasper's attention and for her mythical beauty, while the boys glared at Jasper with anger. The vampire was quick to return the glare and pull the dark blonde closer to him.

Evelyn had also spent more time at the Cullens' house. Jasper invited her over every day, and although he said it was because he always missed her, she knew that one of the reasons was also because he didn't like the conditions of her house. But she really liked her place, since it was the first time she lived alone. Always living in the demigod camp, she had to share her cabin with six other daughters of Aphrodite. Although they were very close friends, arguments always ended up happening.

Something else had also changed in Forks. Apparently they were going to receive a new student, Chief Swan's daughter. Once the man gave her a ride, he told her how happy he was to have his daughter living with him again after so many years apart.

That morning, it was Jasper who picked her up at home so they could go to school together. She was just putting on her boots when the doorbell rang.

"The door is open!" she shouted to the person on the other side, who she knew was Jasper as she heard his car pull up.

"Darling, how many times do I have to tell you to lock the door?" the vampire sighed and scratched the tip of his nose in exasperation. "It's dangerous, someone might come in."

"I knew it was you." She rolled her eyes at Jasper's protectiveness.

He saw her pull on her coat and point to the door, indicating that they should go. However, the boy motioned with his fingers for her to come closer to him. When she did, Jasper pulled her coat up tight, and grabbed a scarf from the coat rack and wrapped it around Evelyn's neck, making sure she was warm.

"We need to get you more warm clothes. Your cheeks are still rosy right now." he teased, seeing the demigod's gaze locked on him.

Their faces were extremely close, and Evelyn could feel herself blushing even more. Her eyes flicked down to Jasper's lips, which were forming a smirk, and back up to his eyes again.

She cleared her throat. "Must be the cold. We should go to school. And wipe that proud smile of your face."

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

When they arrived at school, everyone was talking about Bella Swan. Evelyn hadn't had the chance to meet her yet, but she made a point of introducing herself. Charlie had talked about Bella so much that Evelyn felt like she already knew her.

After a tiring morning, where Evelyn luckily had a few classes with Jasper and Rosalie, she and the Cullen family headed to the cafeteria. Alice was telling her about a new one that had opened in Seattle, while Lucas complained to Jasper about Evelyn stealing Alice's attention from him.

The blond vampire just laughed and put an arm around Evelyn's waist. Lucas took the opportunity to pull the little vampire towards him and make her spin a little as they entered the cafeteria, where the other students of the school were already gathered.

At a table, Evelyn saw her friends with the famous Bella. From Jessica's position, all leaning forward, she knew they were in gossip mode.

"Who are they?" Bella questioned, watching the Cullens walk with an inhuman grace, their skin as pale as chalk and their eyes as amber. Beside them, a girl who was not so pale, with a healthy brown skin, eyes as clear as the sky and who had a natural beauty that made all the heads present turn to her.

"The Cullens." Angela answered. "And that's Evelyn, she's our friend."

"Yes, she moved here at the beginning of the year. She's very nice, you'll like her." Jessica continued. "But she attracted the attention of the Cullens, and since then she's glued to Jasper, the boy who's been sending glares to everyone who dares to look at Eve."

"Don't be like that, Jess. Eve is friends with them, but she always makes time for us. Just yesterday we all went out together." Angela rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, they're Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska two years ago. They're all together. Like, together together. The blonde girl, Rosalie, and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett, they're a thing. I'm not even sure if that's legal."

"I don't know how you get along with those people, Evie." Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"What are they saying now?" Evelyn sighed, grabbing Jasper's arm affectionately. As much as she adored Jessica, she had a tendency to get too involved in other people's lives.

"The little dark-haired girl, Alice, she's really weird." Jessica continued, pointing at the vampire. "She's with Lucas. They're very different, he seems to be more shy while Alice is outgoing. Then, you have Jasper and Evelyn. They're kind of the hottest couple, even though Eve tells us several times that they're not dating."

"Yet." Angela giggled.

"Yup, I give it like two weeks. Everyone is so jealous of them." she said, watching them pass by their table. Evelyn stood on her tiptoes, and gave Jasper a light kiss on the cheek, leaving him to go to the Cullens, who sat at the farthest table while Evelyn sat with her friends.

"Let me guess, you guys are gossiping." Evelyn interrupted their conversation, sitting down next to Bella.

"Obviously." Jessica nodded amused.

"Hi, I'm Evelyn. And you must be Bella?"

"Yes, it's nice to meet you." The girl stammered a little.

She had realized why she had captured everyone's attention. Her face seemed to have been carefully constructed, her lips were full and pink, and her eyes a very clear blue. In addition, she seemed to always have a smile on her face. Bella couldn't find a single flaw.

Evelyn smiled, Bella and her father were both socially awkward. "Nice to meet you too. Your dad talks a lot about you."

"You know Charlie?" Bella questioned.

Evelyn found it a little strange that the girl called her father by his name, but she decided to ignore it. "Yes, he gives me a ride every now and then so I don't have to walk to school."

However, Bella's attention was already focused on the last Cullen to arrive in the cafeteria. Edward Cullen walked confidently, he had bronze colored hair and an air of mystery that only captured Bella's attention more. "Who's that?"

"That's Edward Cullen." Jessica murmured. Edward walked past their table, leaving a kiss on Evelyn's head, and as soon as he started walking away Jessica and Angela broke down in giggles. However, when he glanced at Bella over his shoulder, he seemed confused about something.

"Eve, you are so lucky." Angela groaned, dropping her head on the table.

"He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Like I care." Jessica feigned disinterest. "They only care about Eve here. So, don't waste your time."

"I wasn't planning on it." Bella shook her head, but her gaze remained fixed on the boy.

Evelyn stared at the two with wide eyes. From the Cullen table, Jasper motioned for her to come over to them. The daughter of Aphrodite nodded, realizing they had something to say to her. "Sorry, girls, I'm just going to see a Jasper before we have to go to class."

"Young love, so beautiful." Jessica teased, Evelyn playfully tossed her a napkin and grabbed her things before heading to the other table.

"What is it?" she asked as she sat down next to Jasper, who immediately pulled her chair closer to his.

"Bella, the new girl, she's Edward's blood singer. And apparently he can't hear her thoughts."

"Like how you can't hear mine?"

"No." Edward shook his head thoughtfully. "It's different. I don't get static on her mind. I can't hear anything at all. It's silent."

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

That same day, Evelyn had to go to work at the dinner, being dropped off by Jasper who promised to pick her up as well. Even though he told her that she didn't have to work anymore, Evelyn refused. There was no way she would depend on Jasper, whether they were mates or not.

So, she got ready for her shift. She was cleaning a table when Charlie and Bella Swan entered the dinner, their presence being announced by the bell on the door.

"Charlie, Bella! How are you? Come, you can sit on this table and I'll bring you the menu." Evelyn greeted, leading them to a table in the corner of the dinner, where they could chat freely.

"Hey, Eve. Have you guys met at school today?"

Bella nodded, letting an awkward silence settle in. Before it could get worse, Evelyn brought the menus, and let them choose. Until the end of her shift, she only had the opportunity to say goodbye to the father-daughter duo, as the other waitress took over their table. Everyone in the town was very happy to see Bella with Chief Swan, and they all wanted to see if she remembered them. Of course, the girl had no idea who they were, which only made her more embarrassed.

When she left the establishment, Jasper was already waiting for her patiently. His serious look changed to one of adoration when he saw Evelyn walking towards him.

"Hello, darling. Did your shift go well? Did anyone give you any trouble?" Now that he knew why Evelyn was bringing so much attention, Jasper had become very protective of her. Even though he knew she could defend herself.

"Everything went really well. How is Edward?" she asked, getting into the car when Jasper opened the door for her.

"He's going to Alaska for a while, to the Denalis, who are friends of ours." Jasper explained, making sure to turn the car's heater up to full blast. "The smell of Bella's blood is too tempting and he's afraid of losing control. Rosalie isn't happy."

"Seems like Rose." she chuckled, lifting an arm and running her hand over Jasper's cheek in a caress. The vampire smiled, and turned his face slightly, but never taking his eyes off the road, to kiss the palm of her hand.

"Are you sleeping over tonight? It's really cold today, Emmett and Lucas are in charge of taking care of the fire. I think you'll give us the chance to use the fireplace for the first time." Jasper asked. "Please."

"Fine. But you can't let those two paint things on my face while I sleep. Last time it took half an hour for the paint to come off."

"Sure thing, Lyn."

[charmingradiobelle]

So I’m new to your blog so I have some questions based on a few posts: What’s your stance on Vaggie? Are you not looking forward to her sexy song with Charlie? Why do you prefer Charlie’s with Alastor? I’m not judging you it’s more like I avoid ship wars because this fandom is draining.

I don’t usually respond to questions like this anymore because of all the hate I’ve received this past year or so. But you know what anon, since you’re new and I can tell you’re trying to be respectful, I’ll give in one last time.

To answer your questions in order;

I’m personally very neutral on Vaggie. I have many complaints on how she’s written and her relationship with Charlie, but her just as character herself, I’m just sorta ehhh? Don’t hate her but I don’t like her very much either. If she were taken out of the show I wouldn’t feel anything at all, but she’s here to stay so that’s fine by me.

No I am absolutely not looking forward to that. For several reasons, but I’m trying to keep this brief. The main thing I don’t like is this is clearly a sad attempt to give the main couple chemistry that they lacked in the first season. But sex isn’t going to solve that. If you have to make your lead protagonist and her girlfriend have a literal sex-fest on screen to get people to root for them as a couple, then you might need to consider another career besides writing.

There are many reasons why I prefer Charlie and Alastor over any other ship, but I’ll keep it simple. They’re each other’s mirror: a reflection of what they could be if they’d chosen another path. Alastor is a menacing power-hungry sadist who command authority, something the princess of Hell could easily be if her heart were any darker. Charlie is bright-eyed energetic ball of sunshine who sees the best in every situation, something Alastor could’ve been had his life turned out differently (we don’t know what led to him becoming a serial killer but I imagine it’s something traumatic). They are completely different in these aspects but they are so similar at the same time and it’s so intriguing to see how they balance each other out. Alastor literally holds himself back from killing people because of Charlie (he would’ve absolutely killed Pentious in ep2 had Charlie not been so kind and welcomed him in).

To sum it up, charlastor is such a fun and engaging ship in general and in my opinion it feels like a huge wasted opportunity to not make them each other’s love interest. I watched the pilot 5 years ago having absolutely no knowledge about these characters whatsoever and the second Alastor showed up and started interacting with Charlie I genuinely thought they were going to become lovers😭

Anyway I hope this answers your questions well enough, anon! If you’d like to discuss some more I’d be happy to, as long as the conversation stays respectful and civil!

[everestgale]

I SLIDE U SMITTEN ACROSS THE FLOOR FOR THE CHARACTER ASK STUFF -OWL

SMITTEN OUR BELOVED...

[Send Me a Character and I'll List Ask Game]

favorite thing about them

Smitten is so full of love! And he is so open about his love! He loves the Princess no matter what she looks like, no matter what she does to you, how much hurt she inflicts on you. He will always love her! He is so passionate, so devoted to her, even to his own detriment-

Yes, my favorite thing about Smitten is how absolutely deranged and passionate he is. No, I am not sorry /lh

least favorite thing about them

This is less "least favorite thing about him" and more about disliking how some people misunderstand him as possessive and malicious in HEA. He is unhealthy and flawed, and he caused harm, absolutely, but he is not doing anything in HEA from the place of malice, and I will die on that hill <3

favorite line

"Oh, just you wait and see! My vengeance will echo the depths of my bereavement!"

brOTP

I really like the Grey Brothers (Skeptic + Smitten), I like the idea of them having a weird sibling-ish bond, but in a "distant sibling who you don't talk to much because you two are so different... but it's nice to chat and catch up sometimes, and you are still there for each other if you really need one another" kind of way.

OTP

Ironically, I don't actually ship Smitten all that much... who am I kidding, the answer is CheatedSmitten, and I really need to draw more of them when my wrist recovers, or I will EXPLODE-

(If you'd like a reason, a friend wrote a very nice description on how this ship would play out, and I've been rotating it in my head for a few weeks. Smitten, the kind of person to extend his heart wide open, but also to probably wonder if he will ever be enough after he disastrously failed with HEA... and Cheated, the guy who repeatedly failed over, and over, and over, and over, someone who would understand this feeling of not being enough- Okay, I gotta stop, otherwise it will take over this whole post)

nOTP

Definitely not a nOTP, it's just that out of popular Smitten ships, I have a very hard time imagining Smittunist (Smitten/Opportunist), and it's entirely because of how I designed and how I write both of them. In fact, I actually really like seeing how other people write and/or draw that ship!! So it's decisively a "me" and "my designs/interpretations" problem 💔

random headcanon

People-pleaser Smitten. You can see it throughout this entire post, I'm very deep in the "people-pleaser Smitten" headcanon mine, and I can't get out of it /lh

unpopular opinion

Once again, don't know how unpopular it is, but I think specifically in the Unknown Together ending, where Smitten knows that she left with the Long Quiet, while he would be sad for a while over the fact that the Princess is gone, he will eventually bounce back, accept the fact that she is happily with "the big guy" somewhere, wherever that might be, and then choose to extend his over-the-top loving self to other people (mainly, his fellow voices) <3

...this is specifically for the Unknown Together endings. If we're talking about A New and Unending Dawn... well, we get an entirely different Smitten.

song i associate with them

It's more of a mixed HEA + Smitten song, but there is no other song that I associate with Smitten more than this one, so "Predator" by The Crane Wives it is!

"What were you thinking? Shouldn't you know better? You took advantage of another anxious people pleaser"

I'm kind of obsessed with how these lines fit well as HEA singing about Smitten... but also as Smitten singing to the Long Quiet, or rather, you, the player, for choosing to stay in the cabin and create this "Happily Ever After" ending... only to be dissatisfied with it.

favorite picture of them

This is what happens when the character we're talking about is a disembodied voice who has no canon design. So! How about my favorite drawing of him, which is this illustration with the Damsel. Look at them! They are so happy :]

Ignore the fact that it's part of the illustration set and in the rest of the illustrations they are not so happy, that's not what the question was asking!

[helenofsparta2]

I think Percy Jackson and Will Solace were friends before, during and after The Last Olympian

Warning: this post has absolutely zero right to be as long, as it ended up being, and is, at times, quite chaotic and not as well structured as I would like it to be.

A take that I’ve seen in this fandom in the past few months, both on TikTok, and on Tumblr, is that Will and Percy have a strained relationship after the battle of Manhattan, and specifically, after Michael Yew died during the battle at the Williamsburg bridge.

Now, I understand that Michael's death adds complexity to their relationship, and that it offers a lot of potential for angst, especially in terms of creating a tragic connection between Will and Nico. I'm not trying to invalidate that interpretation of Will. Since he’s a minor character in the original series, everyone naturally has their own take on him and his emotions. So, this is not a claim to the truth, this is simply me providing a different interpretation, in which Percy and Will have a more positive relationship, because I absolutely adore the possibility of their friendship.

(Considering the fact, that Will had very little screen time in The Last Olympian, this will involve a lot of speculation, and comes obviously from a biased view, even if I try to mostly base my interpretation on the text, that we do have about him.)

There are four aspects I want to primarily focus on:

The relationship Percy and Will might have had before the battle of Manhattan

The incident at the Williamsburg bridge & the circumstances surrounding Michael Yew’s death

Will’s characterization shortly after that incident

Will’s possible view of Percy during and after The Last Olympian

The relationship Percy and Will might have had before the battle of Manhattan

Now, Will’s first appearance in the PJO universe was in the last Olympian. So, this point is obviously mostly speculation, and based more generally on the relationship Percy has with the rest of camp, and less on Will as an individual character.

But based on that, I personally think there are two facets to their relationship.

Will and Percy being friends

Percy being generally seen as a leader of Camp Half-Blood

Friends:

To understand the relationship Will and Percy have, I think it’s important to consider the dynamics in camp half-blood at the beginning of the last Olympian. This was a group of around 45- 50 kids and teenagers, who had no place else to go, who faced discrimination everywhere else in the world, who already lost friends and siblings and who fought in at least one major battle together.

They grew up alongside each other, they fought together, they died alongside each other and they buried their friends together. They might have not always gotten along perfectly,, but it’s pretty safe to say, that they probably trusted each other more than anyone else in the world. There is a strong bond connecting all of them, Percy and Will included.  

Despite this, it’s obviously still possible, that Will and Percy had a more neutral relationship and didn’t interact much. That calling them friends would be a bit of a stretch, and that the only thing connecting them is this deep sense of comradery, which no matter how strong, didn’t accumulate to an actual friendship.

However, we do know, that Percy at least considers the rest of camp, Will included, his friends. He calls them that on multiple occasions all throughout The Last Olympian:  

As I looked at their faces—all these campers I'd known for so many summers—a nagging voice whispered in my mind: One of them is a spy. But I couldn't dwell on that. They were my friends. I needed them. (The last Olympian, chapter 9)

She wore the same kind of simple brown dress as she had before, but she was a grown woman now. I bowed. "Lady Hestia." My friends followed my example. (The last Olympian, Chapter 9)

I turned to my friends. They looked stunned and scared, and I couldn't blame them. (The last Olympian, Chapter 10)

I could have stabbed it, but I hesitated. This is not Mrs. O'Leary, I reminded myself. This is an untamed monster. It will kill me and all my friends. (The last Olympian, Chapter 11)

Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing. (The last Olympian, Chapter 15)

I looked at Pandora's jar, and for the first time I had an urge to open it. Hope seemed pretty useless to me right now. So many of my friends were dead. (The last Olympian, Chapter 17)

Grover and I cared for the wounded, and once the sky bridge re-formed, we greeted our friends who had survived. (The last Olympian, Chapter 20)

I thought about my friends from camp: Charles Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, so many others who were now dead. (The last Olympian, Chapter 20)

I specifically want to focus on this quote, which takes place during the battle at the Williamsburg bridge:

"Retreat!" I told my friends. "I'll hold them.'" (The Last Olympian, Chapter 11)

Here, he specifically addresses the Apollo cabin. No one else is present except for them, Percy, and Annabeth.

Obviously, we don’t have Will’s POV, but I personally see no reason to think this friendship wasn’t mutual.

Leader:

I’m going to keep this point rather short, because there is not much room for debate about the fact, that Percy was seen as a leader at the time ‘The Last Olympian’ takes place. He has accomplished a lot of incredible feats, and no one disagreed with him leading them during the battle of Manhattan. So, Will probably saw him the same way.

"But you're our leader." He smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader." I wanted to protest, but everybody was looking at me expectantly, even Annabeth. (The last Olympian, chapter 9)

The battle at the Williamsburg bridge

Now, to focus on the battle at the Williamsburg bridge, and especially Will’s POV during it. This was certainly an emotionally charged situation. A popular interpretation here is, like I said, that Will’s and Percy’s relationship would become strained after this battle, and more specifically after Michael’s death.  I actually argue that the opposite is true. I think, that Will's opinion of Percy improved after this battle.

Let me explain.

Will was, I think, around 13 or 14 years old during the battle of Manhattan and probably terrified.

(Please take his age with a grain of salt. I have this information from the fan wiki, which likes to be wrong at times and on top of that, we can never truly trust Rick Riordan’s timelines and character ages.)

It was his first battle in that book. And a really bad one at that.   Will was at the Williamsburg bridge together with the rest of his cabin, and they were completely overwhelmed. Roughly 10 campers were up against an army of 200 monsters. They didn’t have their flying chariot. They had already shot most of their arrows. Hope was dwindling and at least one Apollo camper had already gotten killed by a hellhound.

Then, in their hour of greatest need, Percy and Annabeth arrived.  

I really want to try to get into Will’s head here, and think about what kind of impression Percy must have made on him during this battle.  

There are two aspects, which I think are really important to consider:

The first one is the fact that Percy always fought at the front lines, and even told the Apollo cabin on multiple occasions to stand back, while he faced the enemy alone or only with Annabeth.

The first thing Percy did when he arrived at the battle was to tell Michael to form a defensive line, while he fought alone against the minotaur, and then later against 199 enemy monsters (. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. (The Lats Olympian, Chapter 11)

Later, when Kronos arrived, Percy told them again to retreat, while he and Annabeth held off Kronos, and his guards, consisting of around 40 demigods and 20 monsters (The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. The hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. Our archers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding. "Retreat!" I told my friends. "I'll hold them.' (The Last Olympian, Chapter 11))

Because Percy did this, and risked his own life, no other Apollo camper died on that bridge, aside from Michael. He saved the entire cabin with that strategy, and seeing Percy face the enemy army alone must have really invigorated a sense of trust in him from Will and his half-siblings.

The second aspect, would be Percy’s fighting abilities

I don’t think I can reiterate enough how absolutely insane, Percy must have seem like to his fellow campers in this battle alone.

He easily,and I mean easily, defeated the minotaur

Because we have already seen Percy kill the minotaur when he was 12, and because we see how fast he defeated him now, it’s easy to forget that that beast is still the minotaur. One of the most dangerous monsters in greek mythology, which has already killed several other halfbloods at this point in time, and probably also at least one Apollo camper. (Tied around the base of each blade were lots of bead necklaces. I realized they were Camp Half-Blood beads—necklaces taken from defeated demigods. (The Last Olympian, chapter 11)

He fights 199 monsters, and demolishes them without receiving a single scratch

I sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Snake women exploded. Hellhounds melted to shadow. I slashed and stabbed and whirled, and I might have even laughed once or twice—a crazy laugh that scared me as much as it did my enemies. (The Last Olympian, chapter 11)

He goes toe-to-toe against Kronos himself

He dismounted, his scythe glistening in the dawn light. "I'll settle for another dead demigod." I met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but I held my ground. Kronos's smile wavered. With a yell, I kicked his legs out from under him. His scythe skittered across the pavement. (The Last Olympian, Chapter 11)

He destroys the bridge, forcing the enemy to retreat

I stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Salt water shot from the crack like I'd hit a geyser. I pulled out my blade and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Chunks the size of houses fell into the East River. Kronos's demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backward. Some were knocked off their feet. Within a few seconds, a fifty foot chasm opened in the Williamsburg Bridge between Kronos and me. (The Last Olympian, Chapter 11)

I think the psychological effects of seeing Percy in action here are really underrated. Before this moment, Will probably started to believe they had no chance of winning the war. But this battle marks a turning point. Yes, the titan army had a huge advantage in numbers, legendary monsters like the Minotaur, and actual titans on their side. But in this battle, Will and the other campers must have realized what it really meant, that they had Percy Jackson. That they had someone who could go toe to toe with the strongest of the titan army and come out victorious. Someone who would come when they called for help. Someone who seemed impossible to kill.

However, afterwards, this whole fight gets overshadowed by Michael’s death.

Michael’s death:

Obviously, Will grieved for Michael. He’d already lost Lee the summer before, and who knows how many other half-siblings. Seeing his brother die in such a way could definitely lead to resentment, no matter how unfair that resentment might be. However, the key word here is could. It's important to consider the context of this scene. One point that often gets overlooked is that Will also saw Percy’s reaction to Michael’s death—and everything leading up to it.

He heard Michael tell Percy to break the bridge. ("Percy, the bridge!" he called. "It's already weak!"(…) "Break it!" Michael yelled. "Use your powers!" (The Last Olympian, Chapter 11))

He heard Percy yell at Michael to get out, before following through with his plan (The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspensions cables a few yards away from me, His last arrow was notched in his bow. "Michael, go!" I screamed. (The Last Olympian, Chapter 11))

He saw Percy search the wreckage of the bridge for Michaels body afterwards (I turned to thank Michael Yew, but the words died in my throat. Twenty feet away, a bow lay in the street. Its owner was nowhere to be seen. "No!" I searched the wreckage on my side of the bridge.( The Last Olympian, Chapter 11))

He heard him scream out in pain after not finding Michael. (Nothing. I yelled in anger and frustration. The sound carried forever in the morning stillness. The Last Olympian, Chapter 11)

He heard Percy tell the rest of his cabin to continue searching for Michael, despite the fact, that they could be needed in other battles, for the slim chance, that Michael could still be saved, or at least buried properly (I grabbed Will Solace from the Apollo cabin and told the rest of his siblings to keep searching for Michael Yew. The Last Olympian, Chapter 12)

Obviously, it’s still possible, for Will to blame Percy. Grief makes people act irrationally. Especially kids, who are already traumatized and fighting in a war.  However, Will’s actions and characterization afterwards make me personally doubt that.

Will’s characterization afterwards:

Shortly, after Michael’s death, Percy and Will drive together to their base to save Annabeth’s life. This is how Will acted once they arrived:

Will and I pushed through a crowd of Athena kids. Will unwrapped Annabeth's bandages to examine the wound, and I wanted to faint (…) Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar." I grabbed a canteen. Will cleaned out the wound with the godly drink while I held Annabeth's hand. "Ow," she said. "Ow, ow!" She gripped my fingers so tight they turned purple, but she stayed still, like Will asked. Silena muttered words of encouragement. Will put some silver paste over the wound and hummed words in Ancient Greek—a hymn to Apollo. (The Last Olympian, Chapter 12)

From this bit, we can say that Will seems completely focused on healing Annabeth. He doesn’t bring up the battle or Michael, and he doesn’t react in any way badly to Percy. He simply tries his best to save Annabeth’s life.

I especially want to focus on this little sentence:

“Will Solace exhaled in relief. “It’s not so bad Annabeth.”

This sentence shows us, that Will himself was worried about Annabeth. That Will wanted to heal Annabeth.  He wasn’t some paralysed, poor kid, whom Percy forced to leave his siblings behind and heal Annabeth. He was a healer, who pushed down his own emotions to prioritize helping and healing his fellow campers, and who consciously decided to focus on the battle and problems at hand, and deal with his grief later.

His behavior afterwards supports this characterization. Even after he made sure, Annabeth survived (and completely exhausted himself with that effort, might I add), Will continued to focus on how to best treat his fellow campers.  

The healing must've taken a lot of his energy. He looked almost as pale as Annabeth. "That should do it," he said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies." He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to one of the Athena guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—" "I would," Travis volunteered. Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat. (The Last Olympian, Chapter 12)

Aside from that, I would also like to shortly consider Will’s POV regarding Percy during the rest of the war.

I imagine that for a healer, like Will, who saw one injured demigod after another, seeing Percy completely uninjured, fighting and fighting and fighting, killing hundreds of monsters all on his own, barely allowing himself to take a break, while attacking a drakon, and fighting enemies like Hyperion, must have been like a beacon of hope in a way. Like a reminder, that they could actually win. That he wouldn’t lose all of his friends. A sign to not give up.

Percy’s promise from the gods:

Another thing, which I think is quite consequential to consider to judge the relationship between Percy and Will, is Percy’s demand from the gods.

I could see Will becoming bitter, had Percy wished for something for himself after they had won the war. If Percy had become a god, while the rest of camp received no prize whatsoever and if the death of his siblings had meant nothing in the long run, I could see Will starting to resent him.  

However, Percy wished for nothing, which solely benefitted himself. Annabeth received the chance to redesign Olympus, Grover became a lord of the wild, Tyson received a weapon, but Percy received nothing like that. The only thing he wanted was the reassurance that the war, Will has lost so many of his siblings on, and which had forced him to grow up so fast, could never repeat itself. The reassurance, that Lee’s and Michael’s and everyone else’s sacrifice was not in vain.

No one can tell me that this did not mean a lot to Will and only strengthened their relationship to each other.

 Post The Last Olympian:

My last point is this moment from the beginning of the lost hero:

“Annabeth!” A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. “I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!” “Will, I’m sorry,” Annabeth sighed. “I’ll get it fixed, I promise.” Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. “These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven’t they been claimed already?” “Claimed?” Leo asked. Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, “Any sign of Percy?”  (The Lost Hero, chapter 3)

Will was the first person to ask about Percy out of everyone else present and didn’t even wait for Annabeth to answer Leo’s previous question.  That doesn’t really sound like a person asking about a guy he resents, or feels neutral about. To me at least, it sounds like a guy who is worried about a friend.

That’s at least my interpretation of their relationship, up until this moment. (Though again, I am quite biased, because, I really love their friendship potential)